Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo has been accused of 'inappropriate and intimidating behaviour' from dozens of people over the past 12 years, according to an ITV News investigation.
ITV News has reported that 'at least one production company was aware of multiple concerns' made by crew members, 'but continued to work with him'.
D’Acampo firmly denies the allegations.
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A woman named Hannah told the outlet that D’Acampo allegedly made highly inappropriate, sexual comments to her during a magazine shoot in 2011, in front of the whole crew.
She said the comments made her feel 'very, very, very small... I felt like Gino, in that moment, was very entitled and he felt very safe'.
"He did not think that was an inappropriate thing to say to me," Hannah added as the people besides her at the time allegedly 'looked nervously into their cups of tea'.
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Gino D'Acampo's legal team said of this accusation: "This allegation from almost 15 years ago has never, until now via a media request for comment, 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."
Another woman, in which the outlet is calling 'Natalie', has opened up about an alleged incident during a location TV shoot.
"He opened the door in his boxer shorts, nothing else. And jumped on the bed and was sort of - leg up," she said. "I think he feels he's in a position of power and he can say and do what he wants. I see it all as quite aggressive, really. I didn't want to do it anymore. Didn't want to do the production, didn't want to be anywhere near him."
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D'Acampo's legal team has also denied these accusations.
"Mr D’Acampo categorically denies these allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour," they said.
"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."
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LADbible Group has contacted Gino D'Acampo's representatives for additional comment.
ITV provided a statement to LADbible, which reads: "ITV is completely committed to creating an environment where everyone is treated with respect and feels able to give of their best. Our promise to those we work with is that where a complaint is made, or serious concern raised, we will always investigate and if we find that something inappropriate has happened, we will take action.
"The same standards are expected of all production companies who make programmes on ITV’s behalf. 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. We make clear our expectations of producers and have robust and comprehensive policies which we implement contractually.
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"We have strengthened these policies in the last 5 years and have set up a dedicated Complaints Handling Unit in 2024 to manage any complaints we receive about on screen presenters and ensure ITV has a centralised view across different productions.
"The standards of behaviour that ITV expects are very clear. Everyone working with ITV is subject to ITV’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. At ITV we treat everyone with courtesy, fairness, dignity and respect and do not tolerate abusive behaviour of any form in the workplace. We have also reiterated our expectations of our on screen presenters’ behaviour through our Conduct and Standards Guidelines for On Screen Personalities issued in 2024. All of the concerns and complaints raised by those who have spoken to ITN describe behaviour which is inappropriate and unacceptable.
"Most of them were not reported to ITV at the time. Where issues have been raised with ITV action has been taken. We can only act where we know that concerns have been raised, and will now be following up on those that had not previously been reported to us.
"If anyone has experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour while working on an ITV show, we encourage them to raise their concerns with us either directly or through our confidential speaking up hotline Safecall (www.safecall.co.uk/report)."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Anish Vij