Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo made “vulgar” sexual remarks about This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby, it’s been claimed.
The TV chef has been accused of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a number of female colleagues over the past 12 years. More than 40 people are now said to have come forward with allegations over Gino’s behaviour – something he has strenuously denied in a statement.
The latest reports claim that complaints following his lewd remarks about Holly were “ignored” by ITV.
Gino D’Acampo’s sexual comments about Holly Willoughby
According to a source speaking to The Sun, Gino made suggestive remarks about Holly back in 2018.
The unnamed woman claimed Gino told her he was “often asked” who he would “most like to sleep with” – Holly or Fearne Cotton. Both ladies were appearing on Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice at the time.
I was disgusted by what he said.
The woman claimed Gino said: “If I could put the face of one on the body of the other then maybe, but I’d probably choose Holly because I’d have more fun with her.”
In response to Gino’s shocking comments, the woman said: “I was disgusted by what he said and how he behaved. He was crude and vile. He’s a vulgar cretin.”
She claims to have brought this to ITV’s attention in 2018.
‘ITV specifically horrid’
The woman alleged that she wrote an email to the chief executive of ITV, Carolyn McCall, raising concerns about Gino. She also said that she contacted This Morning, Channel 5, the BBC and other brands the chef was associated with.
However, she claims her complaints were shut down by the major networks because the incident didn’t occur during the production of any of the shows starring Gino.
She claimed: “Both ITV and the BBC came back sharply, essentially telling me to go away. It hadn’t happened during the production of any show, therefore it didn’t matter. ITV were specifically horrid and even cast doubt on what I was saying. They were cowardly,” she added.
In the wake of the latest allegations against the chef, ITV reportedly pulled repeats of Gino’s show Family Fortunes from the schedule.
Shocking comments about Holly
Gino has previously made explicit comments about Holly on live TV.
Back in 2021, he came under fire for comment about her genitals on This Morning. He was seen using Holly as a makeshift map of Italy during a conversation about his heritage.
Holly was stunned when he referred to her belly button as Rome, before gesturing to her bottom to say he spent most of his youth “playing and training near your vagina”.
Another chef’s “smutty” quip happened during a special program for Christmas 2021. The incident occurred while playing a game, during which the participants had to get a pen attached to the waist with a string into a bottle.
When it was Holly’s turn, Gino said: “Holly, I’ll give you £10,000 if you make the bottle disappear”.
ED! has contacted reps for Holly and Gino, as well as ITV for comment.
Read more: Has This Morning got away with it? Our verdict’s in on ITV show one month after that scandal!
So, what do you think of this story? Head over to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix to let us know.