Celebrity chef-restaurateur Gordon Ramsay has brushed off rumours he is to channel-hop to ITV following poor audience viewing figures for his new series The F-Word.

Ramsay's latest TV show has attracted an average audience of only 2.3 million viewers, significantly less than his last series for Channel 4, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Kitchen Nightmares was watched by five million viewers a night in its first series, dropping to four million in its second series this year.

A spokeswoman for Ramsay said rumours that the chef was planning to swap channels were "rubbish".

"Gordon has just signed to do a second series of the F-Word, which will be shown on Channel 4 next year," she said. "Another series of Kitchen Nightmares will air in the first half of 2006."

The spokeswoman added it was impossible to compare a programme aired at 8pm - a traditionally difficult hour - with one shown at 9pm.

Jamie Oliver's School Dinners series averaged 5.1 million viewers, "a spectacular rating" according to a Channel 4 spokesman.

The chef's latest series, Jamie's Great Escape, shown on Channel Four at 8.30pm, has averaged about 3.1 million viewers.

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