*@!+*@#×$ strewth! Australians want to ban foul-mouthed Ramsay

WITH his no-nonsense style and penchant for coarse language, Gordon Ramsay may have thought his expletive-ridden TV shows would be welcomed with open arms in rugged Australia.

But not only has the Scottish chef triggered a parliamentary inquiry into the amount of swearing on television Down Under, he has also raised the ire of the country's Catholic Church.

The chef is facing demands by church leaders that his TV programmes be banned because of the amount of swearing in his hit shows Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen.

Dozens of other submissions have been made to the inquiry, ordered by the Australian senate in response to a public furore over the number of expletives being broadcast on prime-time TV across Australia.

The probe into Australia's broadcasting code of conduct was launched after Senator Cory Bernardi tabled a motion following the screening of an episode of Kitchen Nightmares which featured Ramsay swearing more than 80 times and yelling, "You French pig" at a chef.

More than 60 viewers complained to the network, prompting Mr Bernardi to declare: "I believe we have reached the absolute limits of acceptability."

In a submission from the Adelaide diocese, the church also stated: "There can be no excuse for vilification of this sort. We conclude that this episode should never have been aired."

The inquiry has received more than 50 public submissions, with the majority in favour of tighter regulation.

However, the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties has defended the chef, saying it has no problems with Ramsay's programmes, which regularly attract over a million viewers.

Its submission states: "This inquiry is yet another attempt to restrict the freedom of expression of ordinary Australians. Not everyone is offended by coarse language."

The Ramsay row Down Under comes a year after authorities in Britain banned an Australian tourism advertising campaign as offensive for using a bikini-clad model who asked: "Where the bloody hell are you?"

Ramsay's spokesman has previously stated the chef was "hopping mad" when he heard about the growing furore, and had rung the senate to complain.

The chef also suffered the recent embarrassment of having plans to open a flagship restaurant on Sydney Harbour rejected by the city's authorities on the grounds of "decency".

Senator Drew Stockman was reported as saying: "We are not prudes … but we feel that allowing this sweary fellow to bring his bilious obscenities to Sydney's harbour-front is a step in the wrong direction."

Ironically, Ramsay confessed in an Australian television interview that he does not swear in front of his own children.

Ramsay shot to fame in 1999 when a fly-on-the-wall documentary, Boiling Point, showed him screaming and swearing profusely at his own staff. In his next hit, Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay tries to turn around struggling restaurants.

In 2004, he was criticised by media regulator Ofcom for swearing during his ITV series Hell's Kitchen.

HOT STUFF IN THE KITCHEN

ALTHOUGH Scottish by birth, Ramsay was raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. His first career was football – he was playing for Oxford United when a Rangers scout organised a trial for the Ibrox club. He signed for Rangers at 15, but by 19 he was ditched by the club.

However, by then he had completed an HND course in hotel management. Ramsay moved to London and joined chef Marco Pierre White at his celebrated restaurant, Harvey's. He went on to work with Albert Roux and spent three years in Paris with Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon.

In 1993, he opened Aubergine in London, which was awarded two Michelin stars. He then opened his eponymous restaurant in London and was the first Scottish chef to earn three stars.