More than half of the struggling restaurants Gordon Ramsay vowed to save on the US version of his television show Kitchen Nightmares have since gone bust, it has been revealed.

Of the 13 eateries Ramsay visited in the first two seasons, only five are still in business.

The remaining eight have closed down. And some owners blamed the fiery chef.

Dave Leonard of Black Pearl in Chelsea branded him a “potty-mouthed teabag” after the Scot tried to shore up his restaurant. The episode aired last September but the venue closed the following month.

In an email that later appeared on a food blog, Mr Leonard wrote: “We should have taken a page out of history, revolted and sent him packing and bleeding back to King George.”

Meanwhile, Chris Posner, the owner of Hannah & Mason’s, now shut, said he was disappointed that the “Ramsay effect” did not save his restaurant.

“With or without the show, I think we would have closed.”

He said he had invited Ramsay in the hope that he “might tweak” his restaurant.

“But never in my wildest dreams did I think he would throw everything out,” he said.

But Ramsay said that some of the eateries he went to were beyond hope.

“Unfortunately, they were going to close anyway before I got there,” Ramsay said.