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Foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsay will be feeling heat

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jul 21, 2009

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It’s been a tough few months for Gordon Ramsay. First British tabloids accused him of cheating on his wife, then the Australian prime minister denounced him for some off-color comments he made about a TV host.

That’s undoubtedly left the foul-mouthed chef in a worse mood than usual, which could be bad for contestants on “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Fox reality show in which aspiring chefs compete to become Ramsay’s apprentice.

The sixth season of “Kitchen” starts tonight at 8 p.m. with a two-hour episode, and it will face some tough competition. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” the summer’s No. 1 show, airs at 9 p.m., where it drew the biggest audience for any non-sports show this summer last week, averaging a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating and 13.5 million total viewers.

Next week “Kitchen” will contract back to one hour at 8 p.m., where the competition is much lighter. CBS’s “NCIS” repeats are the highest-rated show in the hour, averaging a 1.9 last week.

“Kitchen” had its best season last year, averaging a 5.1 adults 18-49 rating as the lead-out to “American Idol.” Fox aired the show, which usually runs in the summer, during the spring to fill in for scripted series knocked off the air by the writers’ strike.

It’s very doubtful the series will achieve anything near those numbers this year, though certainly curiosity about Ramsay’s off-screen life could help.

Late last year British tabloids broke the story of an alleged seven-year affair carried on by Ramsay, who as it happens has twice been named Britain's Celebrity Father of the Year. He has four children with wife Tana.

Then earlier this summer, Australia's prime minister rebuked Ramsay for referring to TV personality Tracy Grimshaw as a pig during an appearance at a food and wine event.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, JULY 21
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“Hell’s Kitchen” (R)	Season premiere. Sixteen new chefs compete for a job in Whistler, B.C.
8 p.m.	ABC Family	“10 Things I Hate About You” (C)	Kat tries to get a fake ID so she can go to a concert.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	Still more early auditions, this time the ninth round.
9 p.m.	Discovery	“Deadliest Catch” (R)	A rough arctic storm causes the Coast Guard to move in.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Hawthorne” (D)	The hospital receives extra patients after another area ER closes.
10 p.m.	A&E	“The Cleaner” (D)	William tries to help identical twin sisters.
10 p.m.	FX	“Rescue Me” (D)	Tommy is forced to clean the firehouse as punishment.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN2	“Soccer” (S)	AC Milan takes on Mexican side Club America in Atlanta.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Wipeout” (G)	Log Roll, Wedge Turntables and Fender Benders are some of tonight’s obstacles.
8 p.m.	Fox	“So You Think You Can Dance” (R)	The final eight dancers perform.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“Major League Baseball” (S)	The Red Sox battle the Rangers.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	Including Meredith Vieira’s interview with “Britain’s Got Talent” runner-up Susan Boyle, the first since her stint in a mental hospital.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Leverage” (D)	The crew tries to set up a shady fight promoter.
10 p.m.	TLC	“Toddlers & Tiaras” (R)	Season premiere. More creepiness, tonight from the Universal Royalty Pageant in Texas.
THURSDAY, JULY 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Media Life fave Martha Stewart makes one of her regular appearances.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	It’s Thursday, meaning someone will be evicted.
9 p.m.	Fox	“So You Think You Can Dance” (R)	The series’ 100th episode will see the field cut to six dancers.
9 p.m.	ESPN2	“Women’s Softball” (S)	The championship game of the World Cup from Oklahoma City.
9 p.m.	USA	“Burn Notice” (D)	Strickler offers to help Michael get back to business.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“Fashion Show” (R)	Season finale. The first-season winner is selected.
FRIDAY, JULY 1724
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Musical artist Sean Paul performs.
8 p.m.	NBC	“The Chopping Block” (R)	Series finale. The final pairs remodel their places and plan menus, then a winner is selected.
8 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Wizards of Waverly Place” (K)	A vampire-owned sandwich shop threatens business at Waverly Sub Station.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“Soccer” (S)	Italians AC Milan face off against English club Chelsea in Baltimore.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Mental” (D)	A drug dealer is murdered and the only witness is his autistic daughter.
9 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	“Eureka” (D)	Dr. Fontana reopens Section Five.
SATURDAY, JULY 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third round of the Canadian Open.
3:30 p.m.	ABC	“WNBA Basketball” (S)	The annual all-star game, live from Uncasville, Conn.
4 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	The weekend suite of regional games.
8:30 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	A taillight violation turns into a drug bust.
9 p.m.	ESPN2	“MLS Soccer” (S)	Beckham and the Galaxy take on Kansas City.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Dirty Sexy Money” (D)	Nick tries to bring Kiki back from Maryland.
SUNDAY, JULY 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final-round coverage of the Canadian Open, won last year by Chez Reavie.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	This week’s nominations for eviction ate revealed.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Storm” (M)	First of a two-parter about a tycoon who can alter weather.
9 p.m.	Food Network	“Next Food Network Star” (R)	Emeril Legasse works with the final three contestants.
9 p.m.	HBO	“True Blood” (D)	In Dallas, Bill runs into someone from his past.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Army Wives” (D)	Joan and Evan face each other in a war games exercise.
10:30 p.m.	HBO	“Entourage” (C)	Turtle goes to Ari for career advice.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.