Ramsay's TV show ruined my business

A restaurant has been forced to close after Gordon Ramsay panned it on his TV programme.

Owner Sue Ray said customers had cancelled bookings in their droves since Bonaparte's appeared in the first episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Things got so bad that she had to lay off four members of staff in two weeks. She said she was on anti-depressants and had received scores of hate letters and calls.

'It's been a nightmare,' added Miss Ray. 'I thought the business was supposed to improve after Ramsay's visit but it has just killed us off.'

Viewers of the Channel 4 series were treated to Mr Ramsay humiliating the 21-year-old chef Tim Grey and condemning the restaurant's cleanliness.

Mr Ramsay was memorably seen being sick after eating one of the chef's scallops.

Miss Ray, who opened the restaurant in Silsden, West Yorkshire, 18 months ago said she had 'lost everything'.

'The fact this programme has caused me to close is outrageous,' she said. 'I do not cast any aspersions on Gordon Ramsay as a chef, but I have not been treated fairly'.The series aimed to show ailing restaurants how to boost their business with Mr Ramsay's advice.

Miss Ray, 53, claims she was not shown a preview of the episode and that her restaurant was misinterpreted.

'I was in tears, I couldn't believe what they had done to me,' she said.

'Tim had already been sacked and they failed to mention he was just a trainee, not a head chef. Gordon was great but the show should have shown the real story.

'It also made out we are a dirty restaurant, but we have since had the health inspectors in and had a glowing report.'

Miss Ray has closed the restaurant but has kept the drinks bar upstairs open. She is considering legal action.