He regularly put a smile on viewers’ faces with his cheeky innuendo as the resident chef on ITV’s This Morning.
But on other shows it was alleged that Gino D’Acampo often went too far and, earlier this year, it emerged that dozens of people who had worked with him over the years had complained of his inappropriate and intimidating behaviour on set.
Despite his vehement denials, ITV removed the 49-year-old Italian from its schedule and he was effectively cancelled.
Now I’m told that D’Acampo is poised to make a comeback with the support of female producers he has worked with in the past who think he has been wronged.
With their help, he is determined to clear his name, win back the trust of broadcasters and get back on screen.
Female producers I have spoken to believe ‘he deserves a second chance’ and argue that he was ‘portrayed as something he was not’.
Meanwhile, D’Acampo has lined up a series of lucrative gigs abroad that will keep him busy over the next six months.
He then plans to return to the UK in the spring and launch a ‘serious charm offensive’ on television executives.
Gino D’Acampo cooking on This Morning while wearing only an apron in 2011
The former Family Fortunes host faced criticism in February when ITV News reported a number of allegations from anonymous accusers who had lodged complaints about the chef’s ‘unacceptable’ and ‘distressing’ conduct on various programmes in a period spanning more than 12 years.
The claims related to his time on ITV shows such as Gino’s Italian Express and Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Road Trip.
D’Acampo also made appearances on BBC programmes but no complaints were made about his behaviour on those shows.
One female producer, who worked closely with the chef, told me: ‘There are some monsters who work in television but Gino was never one of them.
‘He certainly has a risqué sense of humour, and it was actively encouraged by his co-stars, including Holly Willoughby.
‘Throughout my years working with him, it was never an uncomfortable experience. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He always made staff feel welcome while maintaining his high standards.
‘When I read the allegations, he was portrayed as something he was not. He was a delight to work with and I believe he deserves a second chance.’
This was a sentiment echoed to me by another woman who worked alongside Gino.
Gino on This Morning in 2019 with Holly Willoughby, whom a female producer said ‘actively encouraged’ his risqué sense of humour
One key element of the secret strategy to recover his career has been to study how other high-profile presenters had responded when faced with similar allegations and learn the lessons of their experience.
‘Gino has watched carefully as other telly favourites have failed to weather stormy waters,’ a friend of D’Acampo told me. ‘He was told to keep his gob shut and that is what he has done.
‘He’s been particularly keen to avoid criticising his employers and, despite vigorously denying the allegations, he hasn’t belittled the anonymous complainants.’
Gino’s supporters see the response of MasterChef host Gregg Wallace to allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour as an object lesson in what not to do.
After taking to social media to say that the bulk of the complaints had come from ‘a handful of middle-class women of a certain age’, Wallace was forced to apologise for his words after they prompted a backlash.
He was subsequently dismissed from the cookery show.
Strictly star Wynne Evans suffered a similar fate after he was filmed using the vile sexual term ‘spitroast’ on the dance show’s nationwide tour and it was later revealed that BBC Radio Wales had received complaints about his behaviour during his time as a presenter there.
The disgraced opera singer repeatedly attacked the corporation for its handling of the affair and his contract with the BBC was not renewed.
John Torode, on the other hand, went relatively quietly when he was axed from BBC’s MasterChef after an allegation that he used racist language was upheld.
He has maintained his job as a presenter on ITV and recently appeared as a chef alongside his wife Lisa Faulkner on This Morning.
D’Acampo and his supporters are believed to have taken on board the lessons to be learned from his approach.
But while D’Acampo has certainly ‘kept his head down’, he has continued to prove his popularity on social media where he boasts nearly five million followers across Instagram and Facebook.
Instead of commenting on his recent travails, he regularly posts upbeat videos of himself cooking alongside his wife, Jessica, and their three children Luciano, 22, Rocco, 19, and Mia, 12.
‘It’s not in his nature to sit there and complain,’ says one friend. ‘He wants to show his fans, and television executives, that life goes on and he is still doing what he does best: making people smile with food.’
While UK television bosses still have the cook on the naughty step, he remains a popular figure among international audiences, and I can reveal that he is soon to make a return to the screen in a foreign market.
Gino with his wife Jessica Stellina Morrison, whom he has been posting upbeat cooking videos with recently
Gino kissing presenter Ruth Langsford in 2011 on ITV’s This Morning
Upcoming dates in Gino’s overseas calendar include making his debut as a judge in an episode of MasterChef Malta.
The Mediterranean island country is close to the chef’s heart as it was there that he set up his first international restaurant, Luciano, named after his first-born son who now acts as his manager.
Gino will then embark on a trip to Canada, where he will perform in two live theatre shows in Montreal and Toronto. He will also use his time there to film a new video series entitled An Italian In Canada.
He also filmed a pilot of a US show called Spaghetti Wars last year, which is due to air this autumn. Its executive producer Barry Mendelson has previously described Gino as ‘the star’ and added ‘he’s fabulous on the air’.
He will then spend the winter in Australia where he has plans to open two new restaurants and has talks lined up for future television projects.
The friend says: ‘If he can prove that he can make things work Down Under, then he can restore his reputation and that will make a return to UK television easier.’
But it is an uphill struggle for the embattled presenter, who was accused – among other things – of inappropriate sexual comments.
Gino ‘firmly denied’ the allegations, with his legal team stating he does not recognise the incidents described.
He told ITV News at the time: ‘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 is deeply upsetting.’
