Gino D'Acampo has landed his own series with ITV, just over a month after he confirmed his shock departure from hit show Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip
Towards the end of March, TV chef and This Morning star Gino took to Instagram completely out of the blue, to drop the bombshell that he'd walked away from the programme, that has been a big ratings winner for ITV since its launch in 2018, with co-star Fred Sirieix said to be blindsided by the decision.
Explaining why, Gino told his social media followers: "Because contracts start to become very complicated and very stressful, I personally value the friendship with Gordon and Fred so much that I would rather the friendship than arguments with the contract."
The plot thickened when an insider the source told The Sun that Gino, who has denied any feud with Gordon and Fred, leaving Road Trip had nothing to do with pay disagreements, and was over changes to the filming schedule.
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They said: ""Gino, who loves a party, wanted all sorts of caveats put into his contract around working hours so that he could effectively stay up late and have a bit of a lie-in before filming. He also didn't want to work more than six months of the year which, given the tight schedules they all have, was never going to be practical."
Gino has made numerous appearances on This Morning since quitting Road Trip and now ITV viewers will be seeing a lot more of him in newly commissioned programme Gino's Italy: Secrets of the South.
In the new six part series, Gino will head on a food odyssey back to his homeland’s true hidden gems as he explores Italy’s least explored regions of the deep South: Puglia and Basilicata.
Excited for what's to come, Gino said: “Italians are proud of our history, but we also keep our secrets, especially when it comes to recipes. There is so much more to the country, and these regions, and I can’t wait to uncover some of those hidden gems and bring them to the viewers at home.”
In Gino's Italy, the popular chef and Family Fortunes host Gino will explore a romantic realm full of rugged mountains, ancient cave cities, sandy beaches and clear turquoise waters in the southern heel and sole of the country which is Italy at its most epic. However, these regions are full of secrets with much of their history shared with their Ancient Greek and Byzantine occupiers, who have left their mark on the foods that grow and dishes prepared and even the language spoken in this melting pot of regions.
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