Gino D'Acampo

In 1995, aged 19, D'Acampo moved to London to work in The Orchard Restaurant, Hampstead, London and the Cambio Restaurant in Guildford, Surrey.

D'Acampo co-owns Bontà Italia Ltd, a supplier of Italian ingredients, and has a career in the development of ready meals, beginning with the Tesco Finest range. This experience led to his first engagement as a guest on Great Food Live on UKTV Food and the start of his television career.

In 2009, D'Acampo was crowned King of the Jungle in the ninth series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.[6] After the show, D'Acampo and fellow contestant Stuart Manning were charged by the Australian police with animal cruelty for killing and cooking a rat on the show. However, the charges were later dropped after ITV accepted responsibility for the incident.[7]

D'Acampo has regularly appeared on the ITV series This Morning. He launched his first iPhone app "Gino D'Acampo – Eating Italian" in 2010.[8]

From 2011 until 2014, D'Acampo and Melanie Sykes presented the daytime cookery programme Let's Do Lunch With Gino and Mel.[9] The show aired for four series and three Christmas series from 2012 to 2014. D'Acampo hosts a Sunday afternoon cookery and discussion show on LBC 97.3. In 2011, D'Acampo presented the daytime cookery series There's No Taste Like Home for thirty episodes.[10]

In 2013, D'Acampo launched a chain of restaurants with his name followed by My Pasta Bar or My Restaurant,[11] with five restaurants. His first Pasta Bar opened on Fleet Street in July 2013. There are also restaurants in Leadenhall Market, Bishopsgate, Euston railway station,[12] The Manchester Corn Exchange,[13] and Camden Town (Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant).[14]

Since 2013, D'Acampo has presented seven series of Gino's Italian Escape on ITV. A cookery book is released to accompany each series.[15][16]

In autumn 2014, D'Acampo filled in as a team captain for Holly Willoughby on the ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice, while she went on maternity leave. D'Acampo also appeared in the following series in Spring 2015, this time as a regular panellist.[17] D'Acampo returned to Celebrity Juice in September 2015 where he replaced Fearne Cotton as team captain whilst she was on maternity leave.

In 2015 and 2017, D'Acampo toured the UK with a live stage show called Gino's Italian Escape to accompany his television series. He visited cities including Bath, Newcastle and Margate.[18]

In May 2018, it was confirmed that Channel 5 had picked up Win Your Wish List for its Saturday night schedule, with D'Acampo as host. The show is now called Gino's Win Your Wish List.[19] The revival is produced by Stellify Media.

In December 2018, D'Acampo was woken up by Michael McIntyre for the Midnight Gameshow in the fourth series of Michael McIntyre's Big Show.

D'Acampo lives with his wife Jessica, whom he married in 2002.[22]

In 1998 D'Acampo was convicted of burgling singer Paul Young's London home, and served two years in prison. D'Acampo has apologised to Young, who accepted and suggested that D'Acampo could invite him to dinner in his restaurant.[23]

D'Acampo is a fan of the rugby union team Leicester Tigers.[24]

Television

• Gino D'Acampo at the British Film Institute
• Gino D'Acampo at IMDb
• Official website