Italian celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo was back in the This Morning kitchen on Tuesday, June 20, but it wasn't all plain sailing for his colleagues as Dermot O'Leary and Holly Willoughby were left looking awkwardly on as he referenced the recent changes on the show.
Making his return to the This Morning set, Gino made sure to reference all the drama he missed out on after Phillip Schofield's departure from the show. Schofield resigned from ITV last month and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male runner on This Morning.
Gino, 46, was back in the kitchen after an extended break away from the ITV programme. As he joined Holly and Dermot O'Leary in studio today, the Italian chef tied to make light of the situation - but he ended up making Holly and Dermot visibly squirm in their seats, the Mirror reports. The chef cheekily asked whether he had missed 'any news' over the past month upon his return.
Schofield resigned from ITV admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague. Since then, ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall has faced a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling after former employee Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning.
Since Schofield’s resignation, This Morning has been plagued with allegations of “toxicity”. The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, hit out at a “toxic” culture, saying he raised concerns about “bullying and discrimination” two years ago when he worked there – and afterwards felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing.
In her letter, Dame Carolyn said that an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found “no evidence of bullying or discrimination”. Meanwhile Eamonn Holmes, who presented This Morning on Fridays with wife Ruth Langsford until 2020, accused Schofield of “toxicity” in an interview with Dan Wootton on GB News.
After introducing himself and what he would be cooking up in the kitchen on Tuesday's show, Gino hinted that he would be filling Phillip's shoes as a permanent presenter once September rolls around. "See you all in September when I will be hosting," Gino quipped before Holly jokingly pushed him out of the camera view.
Gino's antics didn't go unnoticed by viewers at home who were loving the energy the celebrity chef brought to the show.
"Well Gino doesn’t disappoint does he 'I’ve been in Italy for a month, any news I need to know about?' Cue poor Holly looking awkward," one viewer joked.
"Gino is soooooo cheeky omg!! Love this man!!! Hope he does actually host the show, that would be amazing," another echoed.
"Not a fan of Gino but funny hearing him say what's been happening Dermot and Holly cringing," someone else shared.
While another quipped: "Leave it to Gino to bring the Schofield drama back. LOOOOOOVE him."
