Gordon Ramsay explains puffy face

Gordon Ramsay has denied reports he recently went under the knife to touch up his looks.

Instead, the celebrity chef says pictures of him looking puffy faced were due to a "horrific infection" plus an allergic reaction to a horse, leading to a "hair nightmare".

Earlier this month, dad-of-four Gordon was pictured looking very swollen in the face, so much so that you could barely see his eyes.

Those pictures came soon after other photos emerged of him leaving an LA surgery with what appeared to be a medical cap on his head. Rumours he had undergone a hair transplant with the face swelling being a result, soon followed.

However, the chef said it was due to being covered in petrol while filming illegal shark fin fishermen for a Channel 4 show.

"I had petrol doused, gasoline poured all over my hair and I had a horrific infection. It certainly didn't cause my hair to be falling out," he said.

44-year-old Gordon added: "I was in Napa for Christmas literally two weeks after the shoot and went horseback riding with the kids and had a horrendous allergic reaction to the horse, combined with the problems I had with my scalp - so it was just a hair nightmare."