Gino D’Acampo’s jokes at Phillip Schofield’s expense show This Morning has always been fake-Adam Miller-Entertainment – Metro

Gino said: ‘Any news? Anything from the last month that I should know?’ (Picture: ITV)

It’s unbelievable to think that just over a month ago Phillip Schofield was still Holly Willoughby’s co-host and they were still pretending to be each other’s best friends on This Morning.

Well, at least he was pretending. 

In those last few episodes, I didn’t need to be a body language expert to see from Holly, tensions between them had reached boiling point, and there was clearly something going on. 

As it turned out, the ‘Holly and Phil fall out’ was more explosive than most of us imagined.

Schofield quit This Morning days before admitting he’d lied to his family, friends and colleagues, including Holly, about an affair with a 20-year-old runner five years after they first met.

Since then, This Morning has been plagued by the ghost of its former host – and while there is no right way to deal with something like that, I don’t think off-colour gags are the solution. 

Watching Tuesday’s This Morning, it was hard to believe just two weeks ago everyone on the famous sofa seemed so out of sorts when chef Gino D’Acampo returned cracking jokes about allegations of toxic behaviour behind-the-scenes and poking fun at Schofield’s exit.

Let’s not forget, Alison Hammond broke down in tears shortly after Schofield’s exit because she was so confused by the situation while simultaneously concerned for Schofield’s well-being.

For her part, Holly returned with a firm statement, asking viewers ‘are you OK?’ before really laying out her feelings towards the man who was once her ‘rock’, telling us she felt ‘shaken, troubled and let down’ by his deceit.

Gino, while not a firm fixture on This Morning, is certainly synonymous with the show having been a regular guest chef for over a decade.

Moments like comparing his grandmother to a bike are almost as iconic as Alison Hammond shoving a topless male model into the River Mersey.

But considering it’s been just three weeks since Schofield admitted to having suicidal feelings and suggested he ‘wouldn’t be here’ if it wasn’t for his two daughters, Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27, it seems wrong that on the show he called home for over 20 years, his exit is already the butt of the joke.

During his return on Tuesday’s episode, Gino said: ‘I was in Italy for a month. I came back two days ago … any news? Anything from the last month that I should know?’

Dermot O’Leary, who has been temporarily filling Schofield’s place on This Morning had to chew on his pen to contain his discomfort while Holly happily chirped; ‘Nope!’’

This Morning is nowhere near to moving on from the Schofield saga, understandably so (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Knowing full well what he was up to, Gino asked: ‘Why is Dermot not talking anymore?’

He also opened his cooking segment teasing he had to change his recipe because ‘apparently I can’t do anything with aubergine,’ referring to This Morning boss Martin Fritzell being confronted by a Sky News reporter over allegations of toxic behaviour under his watch.

Fritzell replied: ‘I’ll tell you what’s toxic, and I’ve always found it toxic – aubergine. Do you like aubergine?’

The bizarre response was later condemned as ‘outrageously dismissive and flippant’ by an MP on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Holly and Dermot’s awkward reactions said it all. 

I can’t imagine quite how difficult that could have been given that just two weeks ago Holly told us she was ‘shaken’ by the behaviour of her close friend.

To clarify, I am in no way defending Schofield here. His relationship with a younger colleague was indeed ‘unwise’, to put it lightly.  

He was right to stand down from This Morning and ITV, and even a month on the show hasn’t completely shaken off the scandal.

But jokes made at his expense so soon after his last appearance seem to only fuel accusations made by former colleagues, including former host Eamonn Holmes, that the show is plagued with ‘fakeness’.

This Morning may be, as stars have seemed to be at pains to suggest, a ‘family’, but they are going to have to try a lot harder to convince us otherwise that it takes allegations of toxic behaviour on its set more seriously.

They won’t do that with two of those connected with the show cracking jokes about the accusations in the space of a few weeks.

Granted, Gino comes with his own brand of chaos, he’s a loose cannon like no other and that’s exactly why he was crowned King of The Jungle on I’m A Celebrity and is perhaps one of This Morning’s most popular stars without officially being a full-time host.

Surely, then, the show should take greater care to ensure digs about Schofield and ongoing allegations are strictly off limits, particularly with one of its most hectic personalities.

This Morning is nowhere near to moving on from the Schofield saga, understandably so. 

But it does need to make it clear to its fans and critics that it’s doing everything it can to look forward to a more transparent future without allegations and scandal being a punchline.

We’re owed that much.

This Morning airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

MORE : Holly Willoughby ‘hits back’ at Eamonn Holmes’ dig about This Morning crew

MORE : Gino D’Acampo brands This Morning star James Martin a ‘filthy chef’

MORE : Holly Willoughby incredibly awkward as Gino D’Acampo jokes about Phillip Schofield live on This Morning

Entertainment – MetroRead More