TV

Jamie Oliver tears up as he recalls the pain of telling staff they’d lost their jobs

Documentary covered how his restaurant business collapsed

Viewers saw an emotional Jamie Oliver sobbing last night as he recalled how his restaurant business collapsed during a Channel 4 documentary.

Hosted by Davina McCall, Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef Bares All followed the celebrity chef as he returned to the site of his first Fifteen restaurant in London.

It’s now an empty building, and Jamie revealed the pressure he felt as administration meant his employees were made redundant.

“It is really eerie and I don’t like it,” he said as he and Davina visited the venue.

Davina presented the Channel 4 documentary (Credit: Channel 4 press)

Read more: Richard Madeley ‘turned down Strictly Come Dancing’ because he ‘would look so stupid’

“I don’t know – it is like in the films when the bomb has gone off and everyone has to leave and everything is just left.

“My God, it’s tough. I have been so stressed.”

He later added: “Without question the most painful regret when a business dies is having to tell staff that you care about, that have worked really hard for you, that they haven’t got a job anymore.”

The 44-year-old TV star was also shown revealing his ‘devastation’ to staff who lost their jobs, with Jamie insisting he had done everything possible to save his restaurants.

Jamie and Jools with Buddy and Petal
Dad-of-five Jamie was devastated by the collapse of his restaurant business (Credit: Channel 4 press)

Read more: Coronation Street viewers feel sorry for Steve McDonald as he confesses he’s Emma’s dad

“I am utterly devastated, financially I have exhausted everything I could,” he said.

“I used every card, I used every trick, I used every contact.”

However, the dad-of-five also seemed to admit the possibility there was a certain amount of pride before his business’ fall.

He continued: “We got cocky, we thought anything we did would work.

“Massive lessons learnt, I will never make them again, never again, never again, never again.”

Many of those watching at home were moved by Jamie’s display of emotion, offering him support on social media.

He tried ‘everything he could’ to save the restaurants (Credit: Channel 4 press)

One viewer remarked: “Heartbreaking to see you in tears, however I believe this happened for a reason a good reason.”

Another tweeted: “As a massive Jamie Oliver fan, I feel sick and upset at the closure of his restaurants. Such great passion, vision and food, am in tears.”

“OMG watching Jamie only 10 min in and feeling for him so much,” added a third.

However, not everybody watching had sympathy for the TV veteran.

“I cried when they gave me the bill in there so…,” joked one commenter.

“Karma for getting rid of Turkey Twizzlers,” added another.

Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.


Robert Leigh
Freelance writer

Related Topics