Best TV programme (readers' award)

I'll never forget the first thing Pat Llewellyn said to me,' says Gordon Ramsay, recalling the day he invited her to Claridge's to try and strike a television deal. 'She said, "I'm really sorry, I might be interested, but you've got to stop doing blanket TV - little bits of crap that mean nothing". I was like, "Fuck me, I thought I was a hard-ass!" But she was straight, honest and full of integrity.'

That was four years ago, when Lewellyn was already the doyenne of food programmes, with Two Fat Ladies and The Naked Chef among the mould-breaking series she had produced for Optomen, the production company she part-owns. Ramsay, by contrast, had come across as a boorish, foul-mouthed psychopath in Boiling Point, dabbled in Faking It, and featured in a programme called Passion for Flavour which was, by his own admission, 'horrendous'.

In the words of Lewellyn, 'He just hadn't popped, as they say in America. I was really puzzled by why Gordon hadn't worked on telly [her preferred word for the medium] because television likes big characters, and he's a big physical person. I phoned a couple of people at the BBC and said, "Are you interested in Gordon Ramsay?" They said, "Nah, he doesn't really work on TV,we're not interested".'

How wrong could the Corporation be? Six month later, Llewellyn pitched Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares to a receptive Channel 4, and the series won a Bafta in 2005 and an Emmy in 2006. On ITV, Hell's Kitchen (in which Ramsay chastised Edwina Currie with the words 'One minute you're shagging our prime minister, and now you're shagging me from behind') drew big audiences in Britain - and both programmes proved hugely popular with American viewers.

The world had fallen for Ramsay - but then a strange thing happened. Llewellyn came up with the formula for The F Word, a magazine programme filmed in a restaurant - in which, among other stunts, Ramsay led outrageous campaigns (such as Women Can't Cook), was held up to scrutiny by food critic Giles Coren, and had young hopefuls compete to become his commis chef.

'We thought we were being terribly bold and different and had come up with something really clever,' says Llewellyn, who confesses to watching 'a lot of Top Gear ' before making The F Word. 'The reality was, the viewing figures weren't very good. That whole magazine genre had been out of circulation for a long time, and perhaps the grammar of that sort of telly wasn't familiar to people.'

The critics hated it, and a forlorn Llewellyn set about modifying the format for a second series. 'We injected more jeopardy into it,' she says - a word both she and Ramsay use repeatedly. 'People came to the restaurant and, if they didn't like the food, they didn't pay. For Gordon, that's quite a big deal.' In another innovation, Ramsay's dishes were judged by a panel of amateur tasters.

'I always have to question their palate,' says Ramsay, 'but I take it on the chin when I lose and I'm over the moon if I win. You never know what's going to happen. Pat doesn't make sure that I always come up smelling like a fucking bunch of roses. I'm under immense pressure, there's jeopardy there for me.'

Happily, the programme's audience doubled - and Channel 4 commissioned a third series, to be aired in the spring. In the OFM awards, The F Word scooped almost twice as many votes for best television programme as Jamie's School Dinners, testimony to Llewellyn's intuition and Ramsay's willingness to learn.

Now, there is talk of taking The F Word to America, where Ramsay has gone down a storm. As I speak to him on the phone in Los Angeles, he is building up steam for a day of filming Kitchen Nightmares, applying his blunt troubleshooting skills to a fine-dining restaurant in Pomona. 'The soup is bought in, the swordfish is frozen,' he sneers 'and the only fresh produce is chocolate brownies made by the local district attorney. I said to the waitress, "Fuck me, get me a cup of coffee, I'm getting the fuck out of here". That's the kind of scenario I'm facing.'

Suddenly, I think I see what Llewellyn is up to in The F Word. It's not just that Ramsay is made for TV, but that such a cocksure alpha male, delighting viewers with his withering putdowns and avalanches of expletives, is ripe for demolition himself. Expose him to a little jeopardy, and people will be queuing up to watch. It's like getting Simon Cowell to sing, judged by a panel of his ex-girlfriends.

'He's like the Incredible Hulk when he goes into the kitchen,' says Llewellyn, when I ask if working with Ramsay is itself a kitchen nightmare. 'In the middle of service, under that sort of pressure, he's a different person. In real life, he has very good manners, he's very funny, very sweet - he's like a friend, you know.'

Unexpectedly, she giggles. 'It's just that I don't want to sound like I'm blowing smoke up Gordon's arse,' she says. 'What I really wanted to tell you about was all the hair products in his bathroom, more than in any teenage girl's. Also, I get fed up when the press say, "I wish she'd stop telling him to take his jacket off". Actually, it's not me; Gordon just fucking loves it. He's a great big exhibitionist.'

When I count the expletives in my chat with Lewellyn, there are 17; Ramsay utters 30 - but it's not a bad effort by his producer. 'There are clear Channel 4 cut-off points,' she says, 'so you can't say the C-word, but I'd rather Gordon says what he wants, then edit it later. Swearing is a part of his very being, somehow.'

It's pretty much what Ramsay says himself. 'Have you ever been in a changing room at half time?' he asks. 'A professional changing room at Old Trafford and you're two-nil down against Scunthorpe United or something, and you're in the fifth round of the FA Cup? Do you think Alex Ferguson is shouting at Paul Scholes, "Please be so kind as to run down the wing and score"? He goes fucking bananas. It's the language of the industry, and no one will ever mummify it.'

Though laissez-faire about expletives, Llewellyn is tough on other misconduct. 'If you're running literally two or three minutes late,' says Ramsay, 'she'll say, "Move your arse, we can't start without you. You get pissed off when customers arrive late in your restaurant, I'm getting pissed-off with you because you're late".'

Discipline, he reckons, is the key to Llewellyn's success. 'When you watch the programme, you think, "That's fast, that's upbeat, that's vibrant". Trust me, if it's shit and it's not good, she'll say, "Crap, start again because I think you sounded like a right prick". It's a very difficult area, television. You feel insecure about the way you're coming across, but Pat has always made me feel very confident.'

Once, while filming Kitchen Nightmares at The GlassHouse Restaurant in Ambleside, she proved supportive in an unexpected way. 'The place was packed,' Ramsay says. 'Everyone knew I was in town, and people kept coming up and saying, "I don't like the food, it isn't Gordon Ramsay food" - as if it was my fault. I turned round and there was Pat at the fucking sink with her Marigolds on, washing up! Now, how many executive producers, who are not just making the programme but own the production company, stand there washing up dishes for a failing restaurant?' The iron fist is shrouded in a Marigold glove - and Ramsay hints at Llewellyn's vulnerability.

'I'm not saying Pat felt hurt or let down,' he says, referring to Jamie Oliver's decision to leave Optomen and start his own TV company. 'But if you propel someone, open the door, it's like a boxer. They win their first major title and their management says, "You don't need a promoter any more". But the minute Prince Naseem began promoting himself, hosting events, he wasn't the same fighter.'

In fact, leaving The Naked Chef behind gave Llewellyn the opportunity to do what she does best - 'spotting talent, nursing it and propelling it', says Ramsay. 'We've got an amazing project coming up,' he adds, 'searching the country for a new Fanny.' I pause, shocked, thinking it is another expletive. 'That's the objective of the new F Word - looking for a new Fanny Cradock,' he clarifies.

Because he is in Hollywood, I ask him to give an acceptance speech for his OFM Oscar. ' The F Word has only been a success on the back of the whole team,' he says, without audibly crying. 'I don't see it as a production company, I see it as a restaurant - from your maitre d' to your sous chef, down to your kitchen porter, who would be your runner. Everyone is working, there's no fancy, up-your-own-arse bullshit just because you present it. You keep it real.'