Italian celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo has been accused of intimidating and sexually inappropriate behaviour by “dozens” of people on the set of his television programmes over nearly 15 years. He emphatically denies the claims.
An investigation by British outlet ITV News raised allegations of “unacceptable”, “distressing” and “horrendous” comments from the 48-year-old, who has been a mainstay on cooking and travel television shows since the early 2000s.
D’Acampo was accused of sexually aggressive comments directed at women, and threatening and abusive language on the set of his television shows, including Gino’s Italian Express, and Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip with fellow celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisal, claimed D’Acampo told her he would “like to turn me over” and have sex “against the kitchen counter” while they were working on a magazine shoot in 2011.
In a statement via his legal team, D’Acampo “emphatically and unequivocally” denied the allegations.
“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,” it said.
“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’.”
