The television chef John Burton Race blearily answered his mobile after his eviction from the Australian jungle in I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!

Some news he had missed while he was incommunicado in the rainforest: his wife, Kim, 42, whom he is in the process of divorcing, had shut his £1.2 million Michelin-starred restaurant in Devon and sacked the 20 staff.

The workers were given their P45s on Monday night and a notice was put on the door stating: “It is with deep regret that as of Tuesday 27th November 2007 the New Angel restaurant and rooms will cease trading. Please direct all inquiries to John Burton Race.”

It gave the number of his mobile telephone, which he answered in his Queensland hotel room yesterday. At first Mr Burton Race, 50, could not believe what he was hearing. As soon as he realised it was not a joke he clammed up.

He said: “None of that is right. I didn’t know the restaurant was closed or that there was a note in the window. The decision to close the restaurant was not made by me. I have got nothing more to say.” Mr Burton Race left Kim, his wife of 11 years, a mother of six, for Suzie Ward, 40, and their three-year-old son in March.

Mrs Burton Race was running the New Angel, in Dartmouth, while he spent two weeks in the jungle before becoming the fourth celebrity to be evicted by public vote.

Mrs Burton Race told staff on Friday that the restaurant was closing and they were being given their P45s. One worker said: “Mrs Burton Race came in to tell us she was closing the restaurant and we had two days left of trading. The last service was Sunday and after lunchtime we were told to clear out the fridges and throw away stock.

“About 20 staff who work there have lost their jobs, and those of us who live in staff accommodation [have lost] our homes too.

“We were told that if we didn’t talk about it then we would be more likely to get jobs in the area. John will be fuming. The restaurant is everything to him.”

One waiter, who has worked at the New Angel for six months, said: “We tried to call John in Australia but the TV production told us we could not contact him. I am annoyed because I have just lost my job overnight and I do not understand why.”

Another former employee said: “It is rubbish. We were told on Sunday that the restaurant would close just like that. They can’t do it. It is too short notice.”

Litter bags were piled in the entrance of the restaurant and delivery men had dumped supplies including cooking oil and paper towels outside because they could not get in.

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