Gordon Ramsay has achieved the impossible over the years.

Not only has he managed to get his hands on an OBE, a multi-million pound restaurant portfolio, at least three TV shows at any given time and a wife and four kids, this fiery tempered, foul-mouthed force of nature has slowly worked his way into our hearts.

And now that his autobiography Humble Pie is out, he's got us all weeping into our hankies - and is in danger of ruining his hard-man reputation.

We all know he had a gruelling Glaswegian childhood, was a failed football player and has worked his socks off to get where he is. But Humble Pie opens his life wide open and explains how Gordon Ramsay became the man he is.

Ramsay is already top of the culinary tree and rich enough to fund a small African country - or at least a meal in one of his restaurants - so why spill the beans?

"I decided to write it on the back of my own experiences with my six-year-old son Jack. It dawned on me that the relationship with my father was so very different.

"I discussed my early years with my mum. She opened up and told me more about what it was really like. At that point I decided to write the book," he said.

Ramsay had the kind of childhood you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. His father was a drunken, wife-beating, bully but Ramsay admits that his rough early days helped him in the kitchen.

The old adage, 'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen' springs to mind - but Ramsay could certainly take the heat. He was able to ignore the torrents of abuse and terrible conditions because he'd had good preparation at home.

It enabled him to pursue his dream of opening his own restaurant and gaining his own Michelin stars.

Ramsay says writing the book helped him empathise with his mother.

"It helped me truly understand what it was like for her - 20 years old with four kids and a violent partner, and the strength and determination she had to have to get through it."

What is also interesting is how big a part Oxford played in Ramsay's initial success. Having fled his father's cruel grasp, he headed to Banbury, where he attended catering college and got his first job in a pub. He also joined the football team. He recalls: "Oxford was a happy time for me. I remember playing at the Manor Ground with its amazing slope. It was always great playing downhill, not so great playing up!"

"Once a week, I used to treat myself to a meal at Browns where my girlfriend at the time was working as a waitress."

But what of Ramsay's own fathering skills. Has his father's legacy left a lasting impression? "Everything he did with me I've done the opposite."

The only conclusion, on finishing the book, is that Ramsay deserves his success.

Ramsay will be signing copies of Humble Pie at Borders on Friday October 13 between 5pm and 6pm.