Television chef Gino D’Acampo has been accused of ‘sexually inappropriate behaviour’ over the course of more than 12 years by people he has worked with – he denies the claims
TV chef Gino D’Acampo has denied allegations he behaved in a “sexually inappropriate” way.
The This Morning star has been accused by “dozens” of people, with the allegations spanning more than 12 years. He allegedly showed “sexually inappropriate” behaviour, which has been described as “unacceptable, distressing and horrendous”.
Gino, 48, has “firmly denied” the allegations and said they are “deeply upsetting”. The claims emerged from a probe by ITV News, coming from people who allegedly worked with Gino.
His full denial to ITV News reads: “I have been told by ITN news that allegations have been made about me acting inappropriately, some dating back over 10 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.”
Read the allegations below.
Vulgar request
One woman, going by “Hannah”, claimed she Gino said some vulgar comments to her in 2011. She claimed he said he would “like to turn me over and f*** me up the a*** against the kitchen counter”.
“Hannah” claimed that crew members laughed, but she saw the “shock” and “horror”. She said the alleged comment made her feel “very, very, very small”.
She told ITV News’ Sejal Karia: “I definitely saw it as some kind of power play. The very act of what he said was aggressive. He did not think that was an inappropriate thing to say to me.”
Gino’s legal representatives responded: “This allegation from almost 15 yeas ago has never, until now via a media request for comment, has been raised or put to Mr D’Acampo. He does not recall it, nor accept that this happened. Mr D’Acampo is horrified to be accused of ‘power play’ and an ‘aggressive act’. He emphatically and unequivocally denies these allegations.”
‘It’s only small’
Another woman told ITV News of her alleged interaction with the chef. She claimed: “He opened the door in his boxer shorts, nothing else. And jumped on the bed and was sort of – leg up.”
She claims she felt “disgusted” having to “sit there” looking at Gino. The anonymous woman claimed Gino then made a reference to his manhood, saying: “It’s only small.”
Legal representatives for Gino said: “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.”
Ice cream ‘demand’
It has been alleged that Gino told one younger member of staff that he would “f***” their girlfriend if they didn’t bring him an ice cream while filming. Gino’s lawyers responded to this claim: “Mr D’Acampo is mortified to be accused of saying inappropriate words to a junior member of staff on Gino’s Italian Express. He does not recall this incident at all, and the words alleged are absolutely not ones that he would say.”
‘Character’ material
A spokesperson for Objective Media Group, which is behind Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Roadtrip in 2018, claimed that concerns had been raised. They said that Gino was “spoken to about the differences between on screen character material and behaviour off screen with members of the team”.
Gino is further accused of saying: “When are we all going to get drunk and have sex together,” to production crew.
‘Felt like f******’
Another allegation from Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Roadtrip in 2018 saw a different woman claim Gino made highly sexualised comments. She alleged: “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.”
Inappropriate comment
Gino is alleged to have made a comment about a younger female colleague also on Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip in 2018. It is claimed that he said: “Shouldn’t we be talking about her t***s, they’re perfect, they’re like a mouthful.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
