'People have been spreading lies about Carluccio'

Today a close friend of 71-year-old Carluccio insisted that it was simply an accident and that he was suffering from exhaustion.

The Italian-born chef, who rose to prominence through his BBC television series, is now recuperating in the Priory clinic, receiving treatment for what his spokesman has described as a "private health matter".

It had been suggested that Carluccio, who with his wife made millions from the sale of the restaurant chain that bears his name, is suffering depression and may even have stabbed himself in a possible suicide attempt.

But his close friend, chef Gennaro Contaldo, said: "I don't know why people are bringing so many lies out. It was an accident. He was just sharpening his knife and it slipped."

Asked whether his friend could have been trying to deliberately selfharm, Mr Contaldo said: "No way. Jesus Christ. He would have told me."

Mr Contaldo - who runs Passione restaurant in Charlotte Street, W1, and has made several TV appearances - said his friend had checked himself into the Prior y in Roehampton for "a rest".

He added: "He has been so busy on his books and other projects. That is all it is. I spoke to him on the phone and he is fantastic. He is very happy ... He has such a beautiful life to look forward to.

"There have been so many lies going on it is incredible. He is one of the happiest souls and one of the nicest people you could ever meet."

Carluccio was taken to hospital this month after stabbing himself at his flat in Battersea.

Doctors at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital feared he had penetrated a lung and kept him in hospital to monitor erratic breathing.

It had been widely assumed the stabbing was accidental, but it emerged last week he was being treated at the Priory, the Roehampton clinic whose previous patients have included Paul Gascoigne, Kate Moss and Ronnie Wood.

Carluccio's spokesman told the Evening Standard: "It is a private issue and there won't be any further comment."

Carluccio and wife Priscilla, the sister of restaurateur Sir Terence Conran, founded the hugely successful Carluccio's restaurant chain. The couple sold their shares when it was f loated in 2005, netting about £11 million. The chain is now worth £58 million with 38 restaurants around Britain, making it the fastest growing in the country.

The company said that at the flotation Carluccio had held 0.4 per cent of the business in his name while his wife held 21.7 per cent.

He is now pursuing his own ventures, including adding to the many cookery books he has written over the years.

Meanwhile his wife has, at the age of 72, begun a new business of her own. She runs shop Few and Far in Brompton Road, which sells chic furnishings. Mrs Carluccio had previously been a heavy influence, behind the scenes, on The Conran Shop and Habitat when the chain was run by Sir Terence.

Mrs Carluccio has refused to comment on the state of her husband's health.

The couple met when the chef, who was born in southern Italy, moved to London in the mid-Seventies. He became manager of Conran's Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden in 1981 - the same year the couple married. In 1989 he became its owner, having made his television debut six years earlier.

The first Carluccio Caffè was opened in 1999 and the chain has expanded across Britain.

Carluccio remained a consultant following the chain's flotation but has since severed all ties with the firm.

He had his own television series, Antonio Carluccio's Italian Feasts, in 1996, and has written several books on Italian cooking. He was awarded an OBE last year.

Jamie Oliver began his career working for him at Neal Street Restaurant.