Gino D’Acampo has been accused of “distressing” and “sexually inappropriate” behaviour in an ITV News probe – allegations the star “firmly denied”.
It’s been reported that “dozens” of people came forward with claims about the TV chef on shows he worked on, described variously as “unacceptable,” “distressing” and “horrendous”. The claims against the 48 year old come from a period lasting spanning 12 years.
D’Acampo, who has appeared on ITV’s Family Fortunes and Gino and Fred: Emission Impossible, “firmly denied” the allegations in a statement to ITV News, saying they were “simply not in my nature” and describing them as “deeply upsetting”. The allegations included using sexualised and aggressive language on TV sets, reports Wales Online.
In response, D’Acampo’s legal team said in a comment issued to ITV News: “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.”
A statement from his legal team reads: “Mr D’Acampo categorically denies these allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour. To his knowledge no such allegations have been made against him in relation to his time on Gino’s Italian Express and this is the first time, six years later, he has been informed of these alleged incidents, and he does not accept them, not least because some of this is considered by Mr D’Acampo to be a fabricated work of fiction.”
One woman, who has been named as “Hannah” to protect her identity has told an investigation that she was on the receiving end of vulgar comments from Gino in 2011.
She claims the chef said he would “like to turn me over and f*** me up the a*** against the kitchen counter.” The woman claims that there were laughs from crew members after he made the comment.
But she says she saw the “shock” and “horror”, claiming his alleged behaviour made her feel “very, very, very small.”
One of the allegations against D’Acampo was that he made sexualised comments towards a woman while they were working on a magazine shoot in 2011. Another claimed she had seen him threaten a younger coworker in 2019. One of the allegations came from two women who worked with D’Acampo on Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Road Trip in 2018.
According to the ITV News report, executives at Objective Media Group, co-producers of Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Road Trip in 2018, were aware of the concerns. It was reported that an email had been seen by the broadcaster detailing “unacceptable and distressing” behaviour by D’Acampo.
Objective Media Group said it “takes the welfare and wellbeing of all its production staff and teams incredibly seriously” and includes “behavioural clauses in talent contracts” and provides “behavioural training for on-screen talent”.
MultiStory Media, which produced Gino’s Italian Express, said it would be “inappropriate to go into the detail of individual concerns” but that it was “reviewing the concerns which have been raised, what was known at the time and what action was taken”.It added: “We will also look at any new concerns that have come to light.” Multistory Media told the PA news agency it has not worked with D’Acampo for six years.
In a statement to ITV News, Studio Ramsay, which produced the show Gino’s Italian Family Adventure and co-produced Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Road Trip in 2018, said it takes “all allegations of inappropriate behaviour and workplace misconduct seriously, promptly investigate, and take appropriate remedial action when warranted”.
An ITV spokesperson said it is “production companies who have the primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off screen, when making shows”, describing the behaviour as “inappropriate and unacceptable”.
The spokesperson added: “Most of them (the allegations) were not reported to ITV at the time. Where issues have been raised with ITV action has been taken.”