Gino D’Acampo allegedly made vile comments about his penis to his I'm A Celeb co-stars. His former co-star, Kim Woodburn has publicly criticised TV chef Gino D'Acampo, describing him as "a full-of-himself little pig" and accusing him of inappropriate behavior during their time on the show. Kim alleges that D'Acampo's actions, including inappropriate gestures and language, made her uncomfortable. She also claims that he cheated during a Bushtucker trial and was verbally abusive towards the crew. Kim accuses ITV of covering up his behaviour and giving him a favourable edit, leading to his win in the 2009 series.
The TV chef has been accused of "distressing" and "sexually inappropriate" behaviour after dozens of people detailed experiences described variously as "unacceptable, distressing and horrendous". The claims to ITV News have been made over a period spanning more than 12 years. Gino has "firmly denied" the allegations made by "dozens of people", adding that they were "deeply upsetting". Now, in a new interview, Kim has made claims about his alleged behaviour while they filmed the show together in Australia. The 82-year-old claimed: "He used to stand over a log and stroke his penis area over his shorts. He’d talk to his penis saying, 'I know you haven’t had any sex, but when you get out of here, you will get so much'.".
She went on to tell The Sun: "He would say his penis was being deprived and neglected, and his wife would give him a good seeing to when he got home. We would all just turn away. It made me uncomfortable because it was vile and crude. It’s not appropriate to do that in front of women. But Gino thinks he can do what he wants.". Since ITV News' investigation, they have now spoken to "over 40 people" who have either witnessed or experienced alleged inappropriate and intimidating behaviour by Gino. His TV shows have been removed from the ITV schedule as a result. The TV chef has appeared on shows including ITV's Family Fortunes and Gino and Fred: Emission Impossible.
In response to all allegations, Gino told ITV News: "I have been told by ITN news that allegations have been made about me acting inappropriately, some dating back over ten years ago. I have never been made aware of these matters previously and the allegations are firmly denied. I would not do anything that I thought would upset or distress anyone. This is simply not in my nature. I do not recognise the version of events being put to me.
"Not only have these allegations never been raised with me before, I have been repeatedly supported by executives at the highest level and was commissioned on prime-time programmes during the period in which it is now suggested I was acting inappropriately. I am a father, husband and have worked with well over 1,500 people on around 80 productions in my career, which I have been so proud of. I take such matters extremely seriously and the suggestion that I have acted in an improper way against is deeply upsetting.".
