JAMIE OLIVER - CHEF CARLUCCIO HOSPITALISED AFTER 'STABBING SELF IN CHEST'

CHEF CARLUCCIO HOSPITALISED AFTER 'STABBING SELF IN CHEST'

Antonio Carluccio was admitted to hospital after stabbing himself in the chest with a kitchen knife, it has been revealed.

The television chef was taken to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital on Monday, it has emerged, with doctors fearful he may have penetrated a lung.

A spokeswoman for the 71-year-old restaurateur said it was not clear whether he had intended to commit suicide.

"We don't know at the moment," she told the Sun newspaper.

"He has been in hospital but any health issue is a private matter so we cannot offer any further comment. We do not have any further details."

An ambulance was called to the Saturday Kitchen star's apartment in Battersea, south London on Monday, before he was admitted to hospital to allow doctors to monitor his erratic breathing.

He was later transferred to a general ward and was discharged on Thursday.

"No one knows exactly how it happened," a source told the Sun.

"It was initially a cause for great concern but he seems to have made a remarkable recovery."

Born in Vietri sul Mare, Italy, in 1937, Carluccio moved to London in 1975, initially working as a wine merchant and restaurateur before making his TV debut in 1983.

A mentor to Jamie Oliver and an author of 13 books, he is also a millionaire thanks to the successful expansion of the chain of Italian restaurants which bear his name.