Ramsay is exploiting the death of my son Mum’s claim over TV show
THE mother of the tragic chef featured in the Gordon Ramsay cocaine documentary claims the TV chef is exploiting his death.
In the show, Ramsay says, David Dempsey, fell 40ft to his death aged 31 after dining with him and going off on his own to buy “s*** cocaine”.
But David’s mum Eileen says only one family member was consulted. She says Ramsay does not tell the full story – and producers refused requests to cut mentions of her son.
Eileen, 68, said: “David didn’t have troubles. The only one who rabbited on about drugs was Ramsay. Police didn’t do a proper investigation. Our side of the story has never been told.”
Ramsay’s chef fell to his death from flats near Gordon’s Chelsea restaurant in May 2003, an inquest found. The coroner said he had a reaction to alcohol and cocaine, and experienced “excited delirium” before falling.
In his show, called Gordon Ramsay on Cocaine, the chef investigates cocaine use in his restaurants 14 years later, finding evidence of its use with swabs.
And talking of David’s death, he says: “I never thought in my wildest dreams David, my head chef, was on cocaine. We had dinner that night, he seemed agitated, restless, constantly disappearing to the toilet.
“I went back home and he went back to Chelsea. He went to a dealer that gave him some s*** cocaine and it f***ed him over.
“I kicked myself for not doing more and recognising it earlier.” He added: “I broke down. I couldn’t go behind the screen and identify a guy I loved.” But Eileen said Gordon, 50, had paid scant attention to her wishes about the son who had helped Gordon win Glasgow’s only Michelin star at Amaryllis.
On Facebook, she said: “Producers made no attempt to inform all immediate family and only informed me of the intended broadcast when I contacted ITV requesting references to David not be included, which was refused.” She added: “David’s son Jack participated in this. So they regard that as family.”
She also posted an email sent by TV staff, saying they were informing her of the scenes “by way of courtesy”.
David’s sister Yasmin said she had not been contacted either. In 2003, Gordon said David was troubled over an ex-girlfriend. But Yasmin said of Ramsay: “I don’t think it affected him the way he is making out.”