Jim Davidson leaves TV show over gay slur

LONDON (Reuters) - Comic Jim Davidson has left the reality show "Hell's Kitchen" after making "unacceptable remarks" about homosexuals, ITV said on Tuesday.

Producers asked the comedian to go after he used the phrase "shirt-lifter" in an exchange with Brian Dowling, a TV presenter and former Big Brother winner.

"ITV does not condone comments which could cause offence," it said in a statement.

The show features top chef Marco Pierre White attempting to teach a group of celebrities how to cook. Their efforts are served to diners in a packed restaurant as the cameras roll.

Other celebrities on the show include ex-boxer Barry McGuigan, former newspaper editor Rosie Boycott and singer Paul Young.

Davidson got into hot water after complaining that some of the diners had given him a "funny look", ITV said.

"Why do shirt-lifters pull that same face?" he asked Dowling. "It's a sort of preen." ITV said the comments and subsequent row left Dowling in tears.

In a statement, Davidson denied being homophobic, adding: "I did find it very wearing and I must admit it did make me play up to the worst of my perceived image."