Gordon Behind Bars

Gordon Behind Bars is a British television series in which Gordon Ramsay teaches inmates of Brixton prison, just about five minutes from Ramsay's residence, how to cook.[1] It was broadcast in four episodes from 26 June – 17 July 2012 on Channel 4.

Gordon Behind Bars
Directed byHelen Simpson
StarringGordon Ramsay
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producersTim Whitwell,
Sue Murphy
ProducersJaemie Gallie,
Vari Innes
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesOne Potato Two Potato
(An all3media Company)
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Original release26 June (2012-06-26) –
17 July 2012 (2012-07-17)

Premise

Ramsay, a Michelin Star Chef in the UK, enters Brixton prison over a six-month period (December 2011 to June 2012) with the goal of teaching inmates how to cook and run a sustainable business selling goods prepared inside the prison to the general public.

Bad Boys' Bakery

After some training from Ramsay, the inmate chefs of Brixton prison are formed into a business dubbed "Bad Boys' Bakery", under the slogan "Life Changing Taste", selling a Ramsay version of a lemon treacle tart (later changed to a lemon treacle slice). Eventually, Ramsay was able to negotiate an agreement for a trial order of 100 bars (per location) to be sold in 11 Caffè Nero locations across South London.[2] As of September 2017, the tarts remain available at 15 outlets, while there are plans to expand to 190 locations throughout London.[3]

The chefs

Of the twelve chefs originally chosen to take part, five had left the program by the end of the series. In the fourth episode, five additional inmates were recruited to replace them, and five more were recruited after Ramsay had left.

Original twelve chefs
Inmate Chef Conviction Sentence Location Notes
Anthony Kelly Commercial burglary, dangerous driving 30 Months G Wing Released and works for the St Giles Trust which works with ex-offenders to help rehabilitate them. He also became a stage-actor-trainee.[4]
Andrew Insley Burglary 15 Months A Wing Released and acquired a job at London restaurant Roast
Tesfa Jones Robbery, attempted burglary 3 Years G Wing Released and given a successful tryout at Ramsay's Savoy restaurant
Paul Wyatt Burglary 8 Months A Wing Released and given a successful tryout at Ramsay's Savoy restaurant, but was revealed to have lost the job due to a relapse into drugs
Adonis McQuitta Possession of a firearm and cartridges without a license 4 Years G Wing Released
Daniel Guwaza Theft 9 Months A Wing
Hassan Nour Burglary 30 Months A Wing
David Jones Burglary 40 Months A Wing
Inmate Chef #12
("B")		 The face of one of the original 12 chefs was obscured throughout the run of the series and no details were given about him on screen. Ramsay referred to him as "B".
Jerome Samuels Burglary,
actual bodily harm		 16 Months A Wing Pulled off the program after he was charged with verbally abusing a female officer, was later transferred to a max security prison in Wayland, Norfolk
Rene Smith Burglary 4 Years A Wing Ramsay asked him to leave the program after a confrontation with Ramsay's assistant Gee
Laurence Gibbons Actual bodily Harm 18 Months Ramsay asked him to leave the program after a confrontation with fellow chef Rene Smith

UK ratings
Episode
number		 Airdate Channel Share Viewers
1 26 June 2012 Channel 4 & Channel 4 +1 13% 3,000,000[5]
2 3 July 2012 Channel 4 & Channel 4 +1 13.2% 2,891,000[6]
3 10 July 2012 Channel 4 & Channel 4 +1 2,365,000
4 17 July 2012 Channel 4 & Channel 4 +1 2,158,000

Safety issues

During filming of the program, there were incidents where fights would break out. Ramsay has stated "I was standing close by one bloke with another opposite me, and then this guy lunged over and went to headbutt him. I had to sort it out." Ramsay's wife was also concerned about his safety and instructed him to take self-defense classes.[1]

US version

Ramsay personally pitched the idea of an American version to Kevin Reilly at Fox Broadcasting; however, Reilly declined, saying "We have a lot of Gordon on the air right now."[7]

It is available for viewing on Amazons’ Prime Video as of January 2021.

References
  1. Hooton, Christopher (24 June 2012). "Gordon Ramsay: I had to stop prison fights during Gordon Behind Bars". Metro. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  2. "Lemon Treacle Slices". Caffè Nero. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  3. "Brixton Prison information". HM Prison and Probation Service. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  4. James, Erwin (14 August 2013). "From criminal to trainee cook: 'I owe Gordon Ramsay a lot'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  5. Cole, Tom (27 June 2012). "Gordon Behind Bars detains 3m viewers on Channel 4". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  6. Millar, Paul (4 July 2012). "Gordon Ramsay's 'Behind Bars' a hit for Channel 4 on Tuesday nights". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  7. Walker, Tim; Balls, Katy (18 September 2012). "Gordon Ramsay's prison series is not on the menu for Fox". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2019.


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