Tracy Grimshaw doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
And there were few greater fools during her 17-year tenure hosting Channel Nine’s A Current Affair than celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
Ramsay, 55, had made a snarky remark about Grimshaw’s appearance after she interviewed him on the program 13 years ago, and later escalated their feud by allegedly calling her a ‘fat pig’.
But Grimshaw’s response to his vile attack showed she was the toughest woman on TV – and proves why she will be sorely missed when she steps down from ACA in November.
Tracy Grimshaw doesn’t suffer fools gladly – and there were few greater fools during her 17-year tenure hosting Channel Nine’s A Current Affair than celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
Ramsay, whose publicist had asked the show to refrain from asking questions about his turbulent personal life at the time, teased Grimshaw with a comment about a mole on her face after recording their interview in 2009.
He compared it to ‘f**king Mount Etna’ and asked if it was a ‘wart’ as Grimshaw, who was clearly embarrassed, laughed awkwardly.
Ramsay made the remark after their chat but while the cameras were still rolling, and was later unhappy to see his ‘throwaway line’ broadcast on the show.
The foul-mouthed Kitchen Nightmares host retaliated by attacking Grimshaw in front of an audience of thousands at the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show.
He allegedly suggested the veteran journalist was a ‘fat pig’ by showing a photo of a naked woman on her hands and knees with a pig’s face, and said Grimshaw needed to ‘see Simon Cowell’s Botox doctor’.
Reports at the time suggested he had also somehow implied she was a lesbian.
Ramsay later apologised and tried to pass off his remarks as a joke, explaining via his publicist that he had a great relationship with Grimshaw and Channel Nine.
He also denied calling her a ‘lesbian’, telling 7News: ‘I’ve got all the tapes; I didn’t mention the word “lesbian” once.’
The restaurateur also said his remarks had been ‘blown out of context’.
Ramsay had made a snarky remark about Grimshaw’s appearance after she interviewed him on the program 13 years ago, and later escalated their feud by allegedly calling her a ‘fat pig’
Grimshaw issued a blistering response on A Current Affair, telling viewers: ‘This is not a business for wimps and I am not one.
‘Despite what his publicist said, we do not have a great relationship. We do not have a relationship at all.
‘I’ve played along with him in interviews because it’s entertaining and it’s my job.’
Grimshaw went on to describe Ramsay’s attack as hurtful and unfunny, and called him a bully and a narcissist.
She also clarified she was not a lesbian.
Ramsay later apologised and tried to pass off his remarks as a joke, but Grimshaw (pictured) wasn’t having any of it, and delivered a blistering on-air takedown
‘I’m not going to pretend that his comments didn’t hurt. I was absolutely miserable when I found out,’ she said.
‘He says it was a joke. Well, not to me or to anyone who truly cares about me.
‘Truly, I wonder how many people would laugh if they were effectively described as “an old ugly pig”. How is that funny, exactly?’
‘Obviously, Gordon thinks that any woman who doesn’t find him attractive must be gay. For the record, I don’t and I’m not,’ she concluded.
Her feud with Ramsay resurfaced after Grimshaw surprised viewers on Monday night by announcing she was stepping down as host of A Current Affair.
The respected journalist, widely considered one of Australia’s greatest interviewers, has helmed the news program for an impressive 17 years.
She explained she was ‘tired’ after decades of shift work, and insisted she hadn’t been pushed out by a ‘boys’ club’ at Channel Nine.
Her feud with Ramsay resurfaced after Grimshaw surprised viewers on Monday night by announcing she was stepping down as host of A Current Affair
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