For someone notorious for his fiery temper and forthright opinions, Gordon Ramsay has been curiously muted in recent days while the forthcoming marriage of his eldest daughter Holly to Adam Peaty has become an explosive public spectacle.
The champion swimmer’s relationship with his family has been ripped apart by claim and counter claim about his conduct towards them and them to him – with the latest twist being the arrest of his brother James over alleged threats.
Throughout this war of words, played out in the media, Ramsay himself has kept an uncharacteristically dignified silence as, for once, it has been others getting overheated and losing their heads rather than him.
But the feud has been continually framed as a class issue: with the recurring motif that, by marrying into a hugely wealthy celebrity family, Peaty has been left feeling embarrassed by his own family – while they in turn feel abandoned by him.
Now The Daily Mail can introduce a fresh perspective that completely subverts this narrative – the revelation that Ramsay’s own origins were, if anything, even more modest than those Peaty was born into.
Because, long before he amassed eight Michelin stars for an empire of 88 restaurants worldwide, a £200million fortune and mansions in London, Los Angeles and Cornwall, the 59-year-old grew up on a rough estate that he himself has described as a ‘s***hole’.
Gordon pulls no punches when describing Bretch Hill in Banbury but he also credits the area, a mile from the town centre, for giving him a ‘sense of security and responsibility’ on which he built his future success.
Famously he was born just outside Glasgow. That was in 1966 but while Gordon was barely out of primary school he and his family moved south into central England, initially to a council estate in Stratford-upon-Avon, and then quickly onto a flat in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The ongoing family feud over the forthcoming marriage of TV chef Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly and Derby-born Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty has been continually framed as a class issue. But the Daily Mail can now introduce a fresh perspective – Ramsay’s own origins were, if anything, even more modest than Peaty’s. Pictured: The flat the chef once lived in with his family in Banbury, Oxfordshire
His father, Gordon Sr, used to run a newsagents underneath their flat, which has since been divided up into two smaller one-bedroom properties – and one is now occupied by maintenance worker Shane Simms (pictured), 37
In a remarkable parallel with his future son-in-law, when Ramsay met and then married Tana (pictured together) he was moving into a world of wealth that must have been eye-watering for someone from his modest background
Throughout the highly public war of words over the nuptials of his eldest daughter and her champion athlete fiance (both pictured, centre, with Ramsay, right, and his wife Tana, left), Ramsay himself has kept an uncharacteristically dignified silence
There his father, Gordon Sr, ran a newsagents underneath their flat on a parade of shops in Bretch Hill, which Ramsay would later describe as a ‘tough neighbourhood that no one wanted to visit.’
The newsagents – where Gordon Jr got up at 4am every day to help unload the newspapers – has changed over the years from a fast food pizza joint to what is now a fried chicken takeaway and the flat above has been divided up into two smaller one-bedroom properties.
A young couple, who moved in a year ago, live upstairs while maintenance worker Shane Simms, 37, lives below them. Both properties are owned by a housing association.
Mr Simms, who rents the flat for £550-a-month, told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s an honour living in Gordon’s old flat. I watch him on TV all the time.
‘The neighbours told me that Gordon lived here and I often wonder what kind of arguments he had with his parents, given that he is prone to the odd outburst.
‘I’m hoping this flat will be a good omen and that one day I’ll be as successful as him.
‘I’ve been here around four years. I’ve always lived in Banbury but I was living with my ex-partner previously and when we split I was moved here.
‘Bretch Hill has a bit of a bad rep but it used to be a lot worse. It’s got a lot better over the years.
‘I remember when the area was a lot rougher, there used to be big wars between gangs of lads in the park. Sometimes there’d be as many as 30 lads fighting. It looked like a battle scene in a Viking movie.
‘When I first moved here I didn’t think it was for me but gradually I’ve grown to love being here. I’ve got my own little garden area at the front with my rabbits. I used to own a jacuzzi but I’ve just got rid of it.
‘It’s a one-bed flat but I think when Gordon was living here it was a maisonette, I think. The property has since been divided into two, upstairs and downstairs flats.
‘He has all the trappings of wealth these days and his kids have all grown up with privilege, like going to public school and living in a big house in London.
‘But I don’t think Gordon has ever forgotten where he came from – in fact he’s said before that Bretch Hill made him what he is today.’
Half a mile away from the flat Gordon lived in with his family is a top-floor maisonette (pictured, the building) where he moved with his sister when their father and mother Helen, a nurse, returned to live in the family’s native Scotland
Six years ago, in a Channel 4 documentary called Born Famous, in which children of immense privilege see for themselves their parents’ humble beginnings, Gordon’s son Jack visited the property (pictured) as part of a broader trip to Bretch Hill
Living there now is mother-of-one Storm Newman, 23, who shares the home with her six-year-old daughter Elli-Ann (pictured together)
Simon’s neighbour, Simon Cole, 50, is a chef at a pub in Bicester and said: ‘Gordon is one of my role models, I think he’s great.
‘I’ve not been here that long so I don’t remember him living at the end of the block but it’s fascinating that he started his culinary career here at college in Banbury.
‘Bretch Hill is one of those places where at times it’s so quiet you can hear a penny drop but then at other times it’s absolute chaos with things cracking off everywhere.
‘Parts of the area do need cleaning up, that’s for sure.’
Gordon’s son, Jack, visited Bretch Hill six years ago for a Channel 4 documentary called Born Famous, in which children of immense privilege see for themselves their parents’ humble beginnings.
Jack was shown speaking to staff at the pizza restaurant underneath his father’s old flat and asking them if they had heard of the Hell’s Kitchen star before pointing up to the property and telling them he once lived there.
He also visited the top-floor maisonette half a mile away where Gordon moved to with his sister when their father and mother Helen, a nurse, returned to live in Scotland.
Jack was seen FaceTiming his father and showing him round the kitchen of his former home with Gordon joking that the bedroom next door was where he lost his virginity.
Living there now is mother-of-one Storm Newman, 23, who shares the home with her six-year-old daughter Elli-Ann.
She moved to the four-storey block two years ago to help care for her elderly grandmother.
Storm said: ‘I was told Gordon used to live in my flat many years ago and that he wasn’t particularly impressed with Bretch Hill… well, that makes two of us.
‘I find it amusing this is his old flat but I don’t think it’s a particularly suitable place to bring up children and I’m looking to find somewhere else to live.
‘I’ve only been here for two years and that was because my grandmother lived nearby and she was quite poorly.
‘She sadly passed away in May this year and so I’m keen to get away and move somewhere else.
‘I used to live in Bicester which is much nicer.
‘The only good thing about this place is The Hill, which is a local community centre, as it does a lot for families.
‘But in general this isn’t a family friendly place at all, there’s discarded beer cans, cigarette packets and litter left all over the place.
‘There’s so much more that could be done to tidy it up and make it feel more welcoming. I think Gordon did the right thing in getting out of here.’
During his time in Bretch Hill, Gordon played for the local football team Banbury United and studied hotel management at North Oxfordshire Technical College, where his interest in cooking began to emerge.
His younger brother Ronnie, however, developed an addiction to heroin and started stealing to fund his habit and was in and out of prison.
Drugs and violence still blight the area.
The revelations come as the family of Gordon’s future son-in-law Peaty (pictured, with Holly) has been ripped apart by claim and counter claim about his conduct towards them and them to him ahead of the swimmer’s wedding
The latest twist in the saga, which also saw Peaty’s mother not invited to Holly’s hen do (pictured), is the arrest of his brother James over alleged threats
For once, in this furore, it has been others getting overheated and losing their heads rather than famously foul-mouthed Gordon. Pictured: Holly at her hen do with family friend Victoria Beckham
Earlier this year Thames Valley Police stepped up patrols after two teenage boys were stabbed just days apart.
A 17-year-old boy suffered grievous bodily harm after being knifed in the leg by three unknown men in Ruscote Arcade, a mile from Bretch Hill on February 7.
Three days later another 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the back in the alleyway through Princess Diana Park in Bretch Hill when an unknown man approached him.
Former coal merchant Bill Stowe, 79, was born in Bretch Hill and had lived in the area for most of his life.
The grandfather-of-two said: ‘I’ve been here so long I’m like the local sheriff.
‘I remember the paper shop that Gordon’s father used to run but I don’t remember Gordon himself, although my oldest son went to the same college as him.
‘When Gordon was living here, it’s true that this place had somewhat of a troublesome reputation for people fighting and causing trouble.
‘There used to be a couple of local pubs – The Oust House and the Admiral Holland – which could be rough at times. I used to avoid them but they’ve both been demolished now.
‘It was fairly notorious throughout Banbury and not generally considered a particularly nice place in the town to live.
‘For me personally, it’s not so bad any more and I lead a peaceful life here. I can’t grumble.
‘When I was younger I spent a few years living in Wales and then working for a funfair that toured around the London area but I came back to Bretch Hill and I’ve been living in my current house for the last 38 years.’
The average house price for Bretch Hill is £200,000. There were 41 crimes recorded in the area for September, mainly for violence and sexual offences, vehicle crime and public order.
Violent crime is 59 per cent higher than the Banbury average.
Mackenzie May, 17, laughed when he heard Gordon had described Bretch Hill as a ‘s***hole’ and said: ‘It is pretty s*** to be fair.
‘There’s a lot of fights around here and the police end up being called a lot.
‘It’s mainly to do with gangs of local teenagers. There were two stabbings in the area earlier this year and people often carry knives.
‘The reason for the violence is that youngsters from different estates end up clashing, like Bretch Hill against Roscote or Hanwell Fields.
‘There’s also a lot of drugs and addicts in Bretch Hill and the streets aren’t very well lit at night. It can be quite dark in places.
‘I’ve lived here for nine years so I’m used to it but I can definitely see how the area can appear intimidating to people who haven’t been here long.’
And it was from this world that Ramsay escaped to become the highest earning cook the UK has ever known.
Indeed, Peaty’s impending marriage into a wealthier family mirrors Gordon’s own personal experience.
While the celebrated chef moved out of Bretch Hill at just 16 years old to start fending for himself, wife Tana had a wildly different and infinitely more privileged upbringing.
Her father, Christopher Hutcheson, was a very successful and wealthy businessman, affording Tana an idyllic childhood on a farm in Kent.
While he commuted to and from London building his fortune, his partner, Tana’s mother, Greta, raised her and she would later recall her hanging hams over the fireplace and making vats of homemade chutney.
Tana attended the prestigious Dulwich private prep school in Cranbrook in Kent before switching to nearby Battle Abbey boarding school in nearby East Sussex.
The family moved to wealthy west London when Tana was 17 and she attended Holland Park, the iconic state school where politician Tony Benn and actress Vanessa Redgrave sent their children, before going on to train as a Montessori teacher.
She first met Gordon at a New Year’s Eve party and they married in 1996 when Tana was 21, and he was turning 30.
And when Gordon opened the restaurant that would both make – and project his – name, ‘Gordon Ramsay’ in Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea… it was financed by his new father-in-law.
The restaurant, his signature venue, became legendary: by 2001 it had acquired three Michelin stars and has retained them ever since, a unique feat in the London dining scene – and all started by the deep pockets of his young bride’s father.
And it was Tana’s father Hutcheson who masterminded much of the subsequent rapid growth of the Ramsay empire over the following decade as he rose to become both one of the world’s greatest chefs and restaurateur businessmen.
But then the relationship between Ramsay and his mentor went as bitterly and spectacularly awry anything seen in the Peaty clan of late.
First, Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd ran into financial difficulties in the global crash of 2008, when Gordon was forced to sell his Ferrari to help pay debts.
Both he and Hutcheson dipped into their own pockets in an effort to keep the business afloat, with accounts at the time showing Gordon put in £3.5million while Hutcheson put in £1.5million before the latter was dramatically sacked in October 2010 after 12 years.
Peaty’s (pictured with his parents) impending marriage into a wealthier family mirrors Gordon’s own personal experience – as while the celebrated chef moved out of Bretch Hill at just 16 years old to start fending for himself, wife Tana had a wildly different and infinitely more privileged upbringing
The initially close relationship between Ramsay and his father-in-law Hutcheson, who masterminded much of the early rapid growth of the Ramsay empire, ended up going as bitterly and spectacularly awry anything seen in the Peaty clan (pictured, the athlete with his parents after receiving his OBE in 2022) of late
Gordon reportedly agreed to pay a reported £2million to his former business partner in settlement of a legal battle between them following the dismissal. The agreed payment was to buy out Hutcheson’s 30 per cent stake.
An even bigger family scandal was about to be served though.
Gordon accused his father-in-law of hacking his emails to find financial details and other personal information.
A private detective paid for by Gordon discovered that Hutcheson had not only a secret mistress but had fathered two children with her and had been paying her £5,000-a-month.
Hutcheson took out a gagging order — later lifted by the High Court — and branded Gordon a celebrity-obsessed ‘monster’ who turned Tana against him.
He was jailed in 2017 after a court concluded he had hacked into Gordon’s computer and gained access to financial files.
The following year Hutcheson declared himself bankrupt – while his estranged daughter and the son-in-law he had once helped launch were by now multi-millionaires.
Back in Bretch Hill, their most famous son may never visit these days, but he’s not forgotten.
A passing cyclist didn’t want to be quoted in the Daily Mail but recalled wistfully – perhaps with a note of ‘it could have been me’: ‘I used to be taught by Gordon’s old cookery teacher…’
Tina Hone, 60, who was out shopping with daughter Rebecca, 25, was more forthcoming.
And what she said sums up how Ramsay is seen here: ‘Gordon is pretty much upper class now – he’s been living the high life in London and LA – but he shouldn’t ever forget his roots – this is where he grew up.’
