Oliver will present the 90-minute documentary Jamie Saves Our Bacon on the difficulties of the British pig industry.

Due to be screened on Channel 4 in the New Year, the programme will highlight the high welfare standards practised by UK farmers in an attempt to save the industry which he described as being "on its knees".

And, at a time when presenters' conduct has been the subject of controversy, the celebrity chef's bosses defied calls for him to curb his bad language, saying "we're not reining him back".

Yorkshire pig farmers have been interviewed for the documentary with camera crews visiting farms in the region as part of the filming.

As previously reported in the Yorkshire Post, pig herds have declined by as much as 50 per cent in parts of the UK and many farmers are losing money on their pigs as they are faced with low farm-gate prices and high overheads.

Oliver said: "We showed that if you give consumers the facts about chicken welfare they will make up their own minds and the sales of higher-welfare chickens and eggs have gone through the roof as a result.

"Now I want to see if we can do the same for pigs. Pork is our second favourite meat, but the British pig industry is on its knees.

"Our farmers say that 70 per cent of the pork we import is from countries with lower welfare standards than ours and would have been illegal to produce here.

"All our farmers want is a level playing field with Europe. The support of the British public, as well as Government and retailers, is critical in deciding the future, possibly the very survival, of our pig industry."

Channel 4 head of programming Julian Bellamy said: "The starting point for Jamie is to tell the viewers exactly what happens from farm to fork for a pig, from pig to sausage."

Pigs on the Continent are reared by farming methods illegal in Britain, such as sow stalls.

A campaign group, Pigs Are Worth It, made up of members of the farming industry, has run an awareness-raising campaign to garner public support for higher prices for farmers.

Alistair Mackintosh, livestock board chairman of the National Farmers' Union, said Oliver's new show was "fantastic news" for British farmers.

The programme is part of the Great British Food Fight season which includes Gordon Ramsay campaigning for viewers to start using local restaurants and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall taking on Tesco over animal welfare standards.