Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo is at the centre of ‘dozens’ of allegations of inappropriate and intimidating behaviour towards TV production staff.
An investigation by ITV News revealed allegations of aggressive behaviour, using abusive language and sexualised comments. D’Acampo firmly denies the allegations.
One woman told ITV News that D’Acampo had told her he would “like to turn me over and f*** me up the a*** over the kitchen counter”, while colleagues “looked nervously into their cups of tea”.
D’Acampo’s legal team said that he did not accept that this had happened and that he “emphatically and unequivocally denies these allegations”.
Some staff who had worked with him on programmes such as Gino’s Italian Express said that they were afraid to speak up about incidents for fear of losing work. Many of them were on short-term or freelance contracts and were concerned they would be booked again in future.
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In a statement, ITV said that production companies 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.
“We have strengthened these policies in the last five 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.”
Objective Media Group, which co-produced Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip in 2018, said it takes the welfare and wellbeing of all staff “incredibly seriously”.
“We have robust protocols and procedures in place for all cast and crew, including on-screen talent, that we review regularly whilst also ensuring that we take into account developments regarding industry-wide ‘duty of care’ guidelines.”
The company has an internal anonymous hotline that is clearly communicated before and during production, it said, and there is an escalation procedure when incidents are reported.
“We include behavioural clauses in talent contracts and to further bolster our procedures we have provided behavioural training for on-screen talent to ensure that both OMG and broadcaster protocols, including ITV’s conduct and standards guidelines for on-screen personalities policies, are adhered to,” it added.
Studio Ramsay and MultiStory Media, which were involved in producing series featuring D’Acampo, also stressed that they took allegations very seriously.
“It would be inappropriate to go into the detail of individual concerns but we give our assurance that we are reviewing the concerns which have been raised, what was known at the time and what action was taken. We will also look at any new concerns that have come to light,” a statement from MultiStory said.
Kate Palmer, employment services director at law firm Peninsula, said this latest scandal showed that there is still much to be done around preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
““It’s important that businesses take steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and have procedures in place to deal appropriately with concerns – whoever they are made against. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because employers can be held vicariously liable for the acts of their employees if a tribunal claim is brought.
“It’s important for employers to reflect on what they already do and consider if more needs to be done. Do not assume that sexual harassment is not a problem in your workplace just because you haven’t received a complaint. This is especially important in light of the legislative changes that came into effect in October last year. The new duty is a proactive one; employers need to assess their risks and take action before allegations are made.”
The allegations against D’Acampo come just weeks after similar accusations were made against BBC Masterchef host Gregg Wallace, who has since stepped away from presenting duties.
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