Published 15:48 17 Feb 2026 GMT

Gordon Ramsay opens up about being 'fat f**k' after dad's death became 'wake-up call' to lose weight

The candid chat came ahead of his new Netflix docseries, Being Gordon Ramsay

Ella Scott

Gordon Ramsay claimed his father’s death served as a ‘wake-up call’, helping him shift his focus to health, longevity, and cut back on indulging in food as a self-confessed ‘fat f**k’.

Not only is the 59-year-old a serial restaurateur, a celebrated TV icon, and a father-of-six, but he’s also a dedicated endurance athlete - having competed in the Iron Man World Championship, completed ultramarathons, and crossed the London Marathon finish line multiple times.

However, Ramsay admitted that in his early 30s, he ‘lost control’ of himself and his health.

In an interview with LADbible Group, he claimed this was due to being ‘embedded’ in a roaring kitchen for 18 hours a day.

The confession came amid the sportsman using his new Netflix show, Being Gordon Ramsay, to reveal that the 1997 death of his father, Gordon James Senior, was the catalyst for getting in shape.

“It's a tough one to avoid any food as a chef. What you have to do is graze, and you take small bites all day long,” he explained to us.

“Chefs would be absolutely lying if they told you they sat down and ate dinner before they cooked dinner. And all that b******t about ‘never trust a skinny chef’.

“Yeah, it's the fat f***s you shouldn’t be trusting, because they've eaten all the good parts. The skinny ones are the ones you should be trusting. And they're the ones that are disciplined.”

Ramsay admitted he was once one of the larger chefs he was referring to, and that things really didn’t start to change until after he ran his first London Marathon in 2001.

Ramsay has completed numerous London marathon runs (SHAUN CURRY/AFP via Getty Images)

“I was coming to mile 22. There was a bridge, thousands of people up there… Someone shouted, ‘Ramsey, you forgot your sports bra.’

“So I was like, ‘Oh my God’, and I thought I was going to come in with a decent time. I knew things were heading south when the hippopotamus with the telephone box f*****g overtook me.”

After finishing the race at 5 hours and 30 minutes, Ramsay claimed he needed some stern reminders thrown at him.

“'That was embarrassing. Get your s**t together,'” he alleged.

Eventually, the British icon managed to shave his marathon time down to 3 hours and 30 minutes.

After achieving the end time, he realised he needed to continue getting into shape to become a ‘smart example’ for his customers, staff, and team to look up to.

“It's a tough environment, and you need to be on it, fit, mentally strong, and you need to take care of your diet. And ask any doctor: chefs are the worst, cholesterol, blood pressure,” he mused.

“So all this s**t needs to be tapered, and all this stuff needs to be controlled, and you need to set an example.”

The star added: “After losing control, in my early thirties. And that was a buildup of pressure, chasing three mission stars. I needed an exit. I needed to dust myself down and think longevity.”