Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo has been hit by series of bombshell allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour spanning a period of more than 12 years.
Dozens of people described their experience of working with him as ‘unacceptable,’ ‘distressing’ and even ‘horrendous’, an investigation by ITV News has found.
Among the allegations are that D’Acampo described a young woman’s ‘perfect’ breasts as like a ‘mouthful’ and that he threatened to have sex with a colleague’s girlfriend if she did not bring him an ice cream.
At least one production company was reportedly aware of complaints about the Italian star’s behaviour – yet continued to work with him on further TV projects.
D’Acampo, 48, has ‘firmly denied’ all the allegations, which he has described as ‘deeply upsetting’.
Here MailOnline takes a look at the six bombshell claims that have been made in the report.
Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo (pictured) has been hit by series of bombshell allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour spanning a period of more than 12 years
D’Acampo, 48, has ‘firmly denied’ all the allegations, which he has described as ‘deeply upsetting
D’Acampo is pictured on This Morning with presenter Holly Willoughby in May 2017
Crude sex act
One woman, who has been given the pseudonym Hannah to protect her identity, told the investigation that D’Acampo made a vulgar sexual comment towards her during a magazine shoot in 2011.
She claims the celebrity chef said he would like ‘like to turn me over and f*** me up the a*** against the kitchen counter’ in front of the entire crew.
Hannah said there were laughs from other employees when he made the comment and she was left feeling humiliated.
‘I remember a ripple of laughter,’ she recalled, while others ‘looked nervously into their cups of tea’.
Hannah said the incident left her feeling ‘horror’ and ‘shock’ but admitted she was not surprised nobody intervened.
Speaking to ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia, she said the comment was ‘aggressive’ and she saw it as ‘some kind of powerplay’.
D’Acampo’s legal team firmly denied this allegation. They said: ‘This allegation from almost 15 years ago has never, until now via a media request, been raised or put to Mr D’Acampo.
‘He does not recall it, nor accept that it happened.’
Gino D’Acampo pictured with his wife Jessica while away on a ski trip together
Gino D’Acampo cooking with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on This Morning, October 2024
A former colleague alleged that in 2019, D’Acampo aggressively confronted a young crew member over an ice cream
Boxer short greeting
Another woman, who ITV named Natalie, alleged that when she went to brief D’Campo about a location shoot, he opened the door in his boxer shorts.
She said he then jumped on the bed and made a crude comment about his penis, joking about its size.
‘He opened the door in his boxer shorts, nothing else,’ Natalie has claimed.
‘Then he jumped on the bed, put his leg up and made a crude reference to his private parts, joking about their size.’
Natalie said she felt ‘disgusted’ and accused the TV chef of using his position to behave inappropriately.
D’Acampo’s legal team strongly refuted this version of events, stating: ‘To his knowledge, no such allegations have been made against him in relation to ‘Gino’s Italian Express’.
‘This is the first time – six years later – that he has been informed of these alleged incidents, which he categorically denies.’
Lesbian Cornetto threat
In a separate claim, D’Acampo has also been accused of telling a junior member of staff he would ‘f*** their girlfriend’ if she didn’t get him an ice cream.
‘I was present when Gino said to the runner, ‘If you don’t get me a Cornetto, I will f*** your girlfriend’,’ one woman told ITV News.
Another crew member who witnessed the incident said, the remark, which is alleged to have happened during filming for Gino’s Italian Express, had ‘stuck in my head for years.’
‘He was using his power to bully and intimidate us,’ she said. ‘For what? A cookery programme.’
D’Acampo’s representatives responded, saying he was ‘mortified’ by the accusation and ‘does not recall this incident at all.’
Young colleague’s perfect ‘t***’
Jessica and Gino pictured together on I’m A Celebrity in 2009
A different woman has alleged D’Acampo made highly sexualised remarks in 2018 while on set for the filming of Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip (file photo)
In a separate claim, the TV chef is also alleged to have made a crude comment about a colleague’s breasts during filming in 2018.
It is alleged that D’Acampo said: ‘Shouldn’t we be talking about her t**? They’re perfect, like a mouthful.’
‘Felt like f******’
A different woman has alleged D’Acampo made highly sexualised remarks in 2018 while on set for the filming of Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip.
She claimed: ‘Without saying hello, good morning – he just announced loudly that he felt like f****** that morning.
‘Yeah, ‘I really feel like a s*** this morning’. And off he went.”
‘Let’s have sex together’
D’Acampo is also accused of saying: ‘When are we all going to get drunk and have sex together,’ to members of a production team.
One woman who worked on Gino’s Italian Express told ITV News: ‘His ‘cheeky chappy’ persona allows him to hide in plain sight. If I see him on TV, I have to leave the room.’
D’Acampo, who has built a multi-million-pound career on his larger-than-life personality, has denied all allegations against him.
His legal team said: ‘No-one has ever made these complaints directly to Mr D’Acampo.
‘He does not recall making these comments, nor does he accept that they were made.’
With ITV and production companies now facing questions about how they handled past complaints, the future of Gino D’Acampo’s TV career remains uncertain
D’Acampo, who has built a multi-million-pound career on his larger-than-life personality, has denied all allegations against him
It has since emerged that Objective Media Group, the production company behind Gordon, Gino and Fred, was aware of complaints about D’Acampo as early as 2018.
In response, the company admitted that he was ‘spoken to’ about his off-screen conduct and ‘bespoke training’ was provided.
A separate statement from ITV stressed: ‘We can categorically confirm that this kind of behaviour is not tolerated by ITV.’
With ITV and production companies now facing questions about how they handled past complaints, the future of Gino D’Acampo’s TV career remains uncertain.
For now, the celebrity chef insists he has been unfairly accused.
Responding to the allegations, in a statement to ITV News, Gino D’Acampo said: ‘I have been told by ITN news that allegations have been made about me acting inappropriately, some dating back over ten years ago.
‘I have never been made aware of these matters previously and the allegations are firmly denied. I would not do anything that I thought would upset or distress anyone. This is simply not in my nature. I do not recognise the version of events being put to me.
‘Not only have these allegations never been raised with me before, I have been repeatedly supported by executives at the highest level and was commissioned on prime-time programmes during the period in which it is now suggested I was acting inappropriately.
‘I am a father, husband and have worked with well over 1,500 people on around 80 productions in my career, which I have been so proud of. I take such matters extremely seriously and the suggestion that I have acted in an improper way against is deeply upsetting.’
MailOnline has contacted D’Acampo’s representatives for comment.
