Chapmans and Saatchi in Turner row

They are controversial mavericks of modern art who are the bookies' favourite to scoop modern art's greatest accolade: the Turner Prize.

And this Sunday night, watched by a live TV audience, the Chapman brothers, Jake and Dinos, will be at Tate Britain to discover whether their gory, sex-fuelled brand of art has won the world-famous award.

Now, though, the Evening Standard can reveal that the Chapmans - 6/4 favourites with William Hill - nearly had to turn down their nomination thanks to millionaire Charles Saatchi, who has opened a rival modern art gallery opposite the Tate.

The controversy centres around Hell, the powerful - and, to some, sickening -work of art which was one of the works that persuaded the Turner's jury to nominate the brothers. The piece is a massive Swastika filled with plastic Nazis being chopped up.

Jake, 36, has revealed that once they had learned of their nomination the brothers decided to make Hell the starring exhibit in their room at the Tate's Turner Prize exhibition.

That was scuppered by Saatchi, owner of Hell, who refused to lend it to the Tate because he wanted to show it at his own gallery.

Jake Chapman said: "Then we were in an awkward position. We were going to refuse but thought it a bit vain. We either had to pull out or make new work."

So that is what the brothers did, rushing to complete two new works, one entitled Sex, the other Death, for the Turner show.

Death has been the most photographed exhibit in this year's show - but it has been coolly received by the critics, perhaps because it is a bronze sculpture of two inflatable dolls engaged in a sex act.

Sex is more substantial, and inspired by an earlier Chapman work, Insult To Injury. That is the title of their famous series of etchings by Goya, to which the Chapmans have added clown faces and other adaptations of their own.