Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
GAME FOR A GIGGLE?
As he takes over iconic game show Family Fortunes, Gino D’acampo promises lots of laughs – but worries they might be at his expense!
Who fancies a quiz? We asked 100 people to name a previous host of the iconic game show Family Fortunes. Top answer: surely Les Dennis, who presented it from 1987-2002? Gino D’acampo, who’s about to step into those coveted shoes, would hit the jackpot. Although the TV chef grew up in Naples, he moved here aged 19 and very much remembers Les at the helm. ‘I used to watch that one,’ he says. ‘He was an amazing host.’
But now the top answer is gone, things get trickier. Gino also knows Vernon Kay was a host (he presented All Star Family Fortunes from 20062015), because he was actually on Vernon’s version as a contestant. Was he any good? ‘No, I was rubbish,’ he laughs. ‘I’ll be better asking questions.’
What about the legendary presenters Bob Monkhouse and
Max Bygraves? ‘No. Of that era, the only British TV people I’d have known were Del Boy and Rodney, Cilla Black and Cliff Richard. Oh, and Terry Wogan.’
Blimey. Maybe Monkhouse and Bygraves weren’t huge in Italy, but it’s extraordinary that the new face of the Saturday night game show scene has never heard of them. To be fair, when offered the job, Gino himself questioned whether he was qualified. Pasta he knows, but his prime-time game show hosting experience is limited to a short-lived spell on Win Your Wish List.
‘When ITV’S Kevin Lygo texted me saying he’d to do it I thought it was a joke. “Are you kidding me? This is an iconic show. What if people don’t understand my accent?” I think the only reason he asked me was to have a laugh when I ask the questions, or don’t understand the answers.’
It’s early days (when we speak he hasn’t filmed the show yet), but Gino will certainly bring something different to the table. He came to prominence on This Morning, where he serves up food and so much more. It’s partly the cheeky innuendo, partly the curious command of the English language, but it has served him well. In 2009, he was invited onto I’m A Celebrity and won, and there has since been an endless run of TV gigs, some about his food journeys, others in the realm of the panel
Gordon, Gino and Fred on their American Road Trip
show. Mostly, intentional or not, he has people hooting with laughter.
It’s a relaxed Gino who’s chatting today from the Sardinian villa where he usually spends the summer, although this year he has been holed up there in lockdown. He says his television Road Trip (and real-life) buddies Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix have stayed there (Gordon teases him about his monogrammed towels), as have This Morning colleagues Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. ‘My wife knows Holly’s husband and Phil’s wife – we’ve all known each other for a long time,’ he explains.
Last we heard, Gino was arranging a stag do for Fred. ‘Well, he was supposed to be getting married this year, but with Covid-19 he’s put it back to 2021. But yes, I will be organising the stag do. The secret of a good stag is not to remember anything, then no one can say what we did.’
And his wife won’t mind? It seems not. He says one of the reasons his life works so well is that his wife is happy to wave him off for long periods. He’s been with Jessica (who’s half-english, half-italian) for 25 years, having met when working in a restaurant (owned by Sylvester Stallone) in Marbella.
They have three children together – Luciano, 18, Rocco, 15, and Mia, eight – and spent lockdown fishing and pottering about on boats. Has he been cooking a lot? Surprisingly, no. The kitchen is Jessica’s domain. ‘She is old-fashioned and likes to cook for me. She gets upset if I try to cook.’
She boots a trained chef out of the kitchen? ‘Bloody hell, she does. She says, “No, no. Get out.” Her repertoire’s not as wide as mine, she has 30 or 40 recipes, but I do comment. If something is good – which it is mostly – I say, “Baby, this is fantastic”. But if something is under-seasoned I will say so. Or I’ll say, “This is not working” and she’s cool with it.’
His own family fortunes hinge on Jessica’s approach to their marriage, he admits. Some wives might resent their husbands jetting off around the world, or may be concerned that their husband prefers the company of women to men. Not Jessica. ‘When I met my wife I realised she was an extremely generous, clever w oman. My friends’ girlfriends stopped them doing things, but from day one Jessica gave me a lot of freedom. If you try to cage men it won’t work. I can do pretty much what I want. If I say, “I’m taking friends out”, she doesn’t say, “But you’ve been away for the past week”. There’s no point having a man around if he doesn’t want to be there.’
He says it would be easy for his wife to resent his lifestyle. ‘I employ more than 700 women in my restaurants. In TV, I’m surrounded by women. I love it. Women are more interesting than men, but my wife loves it too. She doesn’t get jealous. She understands that if you want to be unfaithful, you’ll do it anyway. It’s a matter of trust.’
If the tables were turned, he’d be the same, he says. ‘If she wants to have dinner with an ex-boyfriend, I couldn’t care less. I want her to be happy. If that makes her happy that evening, I’m doing my job.’
While he’s been devoted to his sons, he always wanted a daughter and he was ‘blessed’ when Mia arrived. Is she having a different childhood to his sons, given that his biggest success has come more recently? ‘I have more money,’ he concedes. ‘Instead of £1 in the pocket, I have £2.’
His new job will improve those fortunes yet further. Will he triumph? He has no idea, but he’s determined to try. ‘When I say yes to something I give them 100 per cent Gino, everything I have in my brain and body,’ he says. ‘But God knows what is going to happen!’
‘I’m surrounded by women. I love it... and so does my wife’