Photo Credit: Gordon Ramsey
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is thanking his lucky stars to be alive after a terrifying accident on the set of his hit TV show. The 56-year-old culinary icon was filming for National Geographic's "Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted" when the frightening incident occurred.
According to reports, Ramsay was just moments away from potential disaster while prepping for a segment in Florida's Everglades. "I was so fat and ungainly at the time that I just could not get out of the s***ing way," Ramsay recounted in an interview with The Daily Mail.
The close call happened while Ramsay's crew was wrangling a Burmese python that would be used during filming. "This snake was thicker than my calf muscle and about 16 feet long," he described. "It just recoiled and came for my chest."
Fortunately for Ramsay, the snake's strike was deflected at the last second by the protective gear he was wearing underneath his clothes. "If it had taken my juggy I'd have been screwed," said the father of five. "That's for sure."
A shaken Ramsay acknowledged that the freak accident really "shook" him and made him re-evaluate some of the risks involved with his globe-trotting nature series. "That snake struck out of nowhere and things could have turned out very differently," he admitted.
Crew members who witnessed the harrowing scene echoed Ramsay's sentiment that the situation could have ended in tragedy. "It all happened so fast, but Gordon was in real peril for a moment there," said camera operator Marcus Layne. "His protective gear absolutely saved him from what could have been an extremely serious bite."
An on-site representative from Florida Fish and Wildlife was able to quickly subdue the large python after it struck at Ramsay. According to their report, the snake "reacted as any python might while being filmed and handled" but clarified there was no danger to the public during the incident.
The shaken TV host took a moment to collect himself before eventually resuming filming later that day. "Gordon was able to shake it off after a little while," said executive producer Terry Johnson. "But it really did rattle him initially."
Viewers will get to see the harrowing footage of the near-attack play out when the episode eventually airs as part of the show's fourth season on National Geographic this summer. According to Ramsay, the incident made him realize he is "getting too old" for such dangerous situations.
"I got lucky, to be honest," Ramsay admitted. "That's a wake up call that I can't be putting myself in that many life-threatening situations anymore."
For one of the world's most recognized and successful chefs, a freak accident with a massive python was a sobering reminder that his adventurous career can be just as perilous as it is entertaining.
