Jamie Oliver recalls the fight to save a group of restaurants from the collapse

Jamie Oliver recounted his desperate attempts to save his group of restaurants from the collapse while he was investing millions of pounds of his own money into the business.

The famous chef admitted that there had been no "Plan B in case he went to the bathroom" when he started to install his chain of high street Italian restaurants.

The group, which included the Italian groups Jamie, Barbecoa and Fifteen, collapsed in the administration in May, resulting in the firing of a thousand staff members.

In an interview with The Times magazine, Oliver said the past few months have been the "most disappointing" of his life.

"When everything went wrong, it looked like a colander: the business was full of holes and we could not do anything to stop them," he said.

Adding that he badumed "full responsibility" for the collapse, he said, "I thought I could fix it. I put 3 million pounds, 3 other millions, then 3 others, regardless of the numbers. But there was no good news. "

According to the newspaper, Oliver lost a total of 25 million pounds of his own money in an attempt to save the channel.

In the end, KPMG's insolvency specialists closed 22 of the chef's 25 restaurants after the investment could not be guaranteed to keep them active.

Three outlets at Gatwick Airport – Jamie's Oliver's Diner, Jamie's Italian and Jamie's Coffee Lounge – were purchased by the SSP Group's take-away restaurant specialist, saving 250 jobs.

He described rental costs, business rates and labor costs as "our worst enemies," adding that the company had not responded quickly enough to changes in the industry.

Oliver should talk more about the collapse of the restaurant chain and raise the lid of his personal life in a unique documentary.

Channel 4, hosted by Davina McCall and titled 20 Years Of The Naked Chef: Jamie Bares All, will cover the ups and downs of his life and his campaign on the country's food culture.