Gino D’Acampo has revealed he is making his TV return after sharing photos on set in Ireland.
The Italian chef, 48, is making a comeback to screens after he denied a string of claims that he made sexualised comments and gestures to female employees behind the scenes of his popular programmes.
ITV News reported dozens of former staff and freelancers detailed “unacceptable”, “distressing” and “horrendous” experiences while working with D’Acampo over a period of more than 12 years.
Taking to Instagram recently, D’Acampo unveiled his return to TV, sharing a photo of him dressed as a car mechanic in overalls with dirt on his face.
“What a fantastic experience in Ireland working on a new series,” he wrote alongside the behind-the-scenes images. “I can’t wait for you guys to see it… p.s Happy St Patrick’s Day.”
D’Acampo’s fans were quick to support his latest project in the Instagram comments.
“Anything with Gino in it I am so down to watch,” one person wrote. Meanwhile, another fan added: “Can't wait to see you back on our screens.”
Claims against the TV chef include one woman who alleged that she saw the This Morning regular appear to threaten a colleague over an ice cream.
“I was present when Gino said to the runner, ‘If you don’t get me a Cornetto, I will f*** your girlfriend’,” she said. “I felt appalled, disgusted, embarrassed and very angry.”
Another female crew member told ITV News he was “using his power to bully and intimidate us. For what? A cookery programme”.
Someone else claimed that on a magazine shoot in 2011, D’Acampo told her in front of the crew that he wanted to turn her over and “f*** me up the a***”.
Speaking to ITV News, she recalled “a ripple of laughs” from people present, but said that nobody objected to the comment, although she felt “horror” and “shock”.
“I definitely saw it as some kind of power play,” she said. “The very act of what he said was aggressive. I felt like Gino, in that moment, was very entitled and he felt very safe.”
D’Acampo has seen his shows removed from ITV schedules as a result of the accusations against him, which he has strongly denied.
The TV chef’s legal team said at the time: “Mr D’Acampo categorically denies these allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.”
