Gino D'Acampo recently shocked fans after announcing he won't be returning to Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip.
He has been on the show with Gordon Ramsay, 56, and Fred Sirieix, 51, since it debuted in 2018.
A new series - which has already been filmed - is due to air later this year.
The 46-year-old announced his departure on Monday and said there were several reasons he could no longer commit to the programme and head overseas.
He insisted that his friendship with Gordon and Fred remains 'very strong' despite leaving the hilarious show.
Since the news of his departure was first shared, the supposed behind-the-scenes reasons for his exit have come to light.
Here, we take a look at why he left the fan-favourite show...
Diva Demands
It was recently claimed that his reason to leave the series came after requests he allegedly made over his contract weren't met by his co-stars.
An insider claimed The Sun that Gino wanted "all sorts of caveats" placed into his contract.
Gino apparently wanted to be able to film at later hours in the day.
The source 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."
Gino reportedly made it known that he isn't keen on "early starts".
"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," the source continued.
The source said: "Gordon and Fred are obviously quite frustrated and couldn't kowtow to his requests."
Scheduling Problems
After it was first reported that Gino quit the travel show, the This Morning star released a statement explaining his reasoning behind it.
"Last week, I have decided not to film any more Gordon, Gino and Fred Road Trips. The reason is simple ... I mean nothing to do with Gordon and Fred. The friendship is very strong," he said.
He went on to explain that there were scheduling problems when it came to filming.
"It's just because we can't get the dates together and when we do get the dates together sometimes they get changed and it causes a lot of problems for me because I have other stuff that I have to do," Gino added.
"Personal problems as well because when I have to change things with my family it's always very complicated so because of that and also because [of] contracts.
"When contracts they start to get very complicated, then it becomes very stressful. And I personally value the friendship with Gordon and Fred so much that I [would] rather the friendship than getting arguments with the contracts."
He continued: "So I've decided not to do [the show] anymore because I want to be friends with the boys for many, many years ahead. [...] Thank you for watching the show."
Blindsided co-stars
First Dates star Fred and the team at ITV were reportedly "blindsided" by Gino's decision to quit the series.
Just 10 days before the announcement, Fred said in an interview that he was talking to Gino about work.
A source later claimed that Gino’s exit came as a shock to “everybody connected” to the show.
“As far as bosses were concerned, talks were ongoing and a settlement was in reach,” an insider told the Mail Online.
“Contract negotiations are always difficult because of the trio's schedules so the filming window where they can actually get the three of them together is pretty tight.
“But clearly Gino has lost patience and pulled out.”
The source added that the show’s bosses were hoping to convince the Italian chef to stay on with Gordon and Fred “because they genuinely have fun together and make great telly”.
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