Good Mood Food host Ainsley Harriott may be one of Britain’s best-loved TV chefs, but he once had a “hit” placed on him.
The chef, 64, apparently popped up on a dark web hitman-for-hire service three years ago.
Metro said at the time that an unidentified person had tried to use the service to have Ainsley offed.
However, luckily for the cook it turned out that the website wasn’t real.
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What happened with the ‘hit’ on Good Mood Food star Ainsley?
Chris Monteiro is a tech security expert who investigated the dark web assassination site.
He told the paper that a handful of people were trolling the site and “taking the [bleep] at it being a scam”.
“As a result, someone had uploaded that picture of Ainsley Harriott as a joke, it was one of the first pictures we saw,” he explained.
Read more: Ainsley Harriott admits he still has feelings for his ex-wife
“Later, I took out a hit on Bob the Builder and Boaty McBoatFace when testing their submissions system.”
Luckily for Ainsley, it all turned out to be a scam – designed to rob people of their Bitcoin!
What is Ainsley famous for?
Ainsley is best known for being the resident chef on Good Morning With Anne And Nick and for shows like Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook and Ready Steady Cook.
He hosted Ready Steady Cook from 2000 until 2010, when the series wrapped.
In 2019 it was announced that the show was being revived.
Some people thought Ainsley might be back but when the programme returned early in 2020 it was with Rylan Clark-Neal as the host.
Ainsley has inspired plenty of memes
The chef, who also had his own programme in the US, is known for catchphrases such as “Give that meat a good ol’ rub” and “Spicy”.
Both are often used for memes and Ainsley is perfectly happy with his viral fame.
Read more: Where to find the recipes from Ainsley Harriott’s Mediterranean Cookbook
Speaking to iNews last year, he said: “My daughter brought to my attention a card saying ‘spicy’ and a picture of me and I was like ‘What? I didn’t know about that! I don’t think my agent knows about it!’
“But if someone’s happy, let them get on with it.
“I think it is a bit surreal, but at the same time I’m hoping that it is a sign of happiness, that it brings joy.”
Ainsley Harriott’s Good Mood Food is on ITV on Saturday from 11.40am to 12.35pm.
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