Bizarre reason for Gino D'Acampo's change as star's real name exposed

Gino D'Acampo has been a regular on screens for decades and previously shared recipes on shows such as This Morning, Let's Do Lunch, and Gino's Italian Adventure. However, apart from his innuendos and humour, fans gained a fresh insight into the TV chef on ITV's comedy panel game show, Celebrity Juice.

The show, which premiered in 2008, was hosted by Keith Lemon and featured team captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton and various celebrities appeared as guests, including Gino. However, during a 2015 episode, the 48-year-old was made to legally change his name after taking part in a challenge with the show's hilarious host. Addressing the studio audience, Keith, born Leigh Francis, said: "As we all know, Gino D'Acampo doesn't have a middle name, all you have to do is let us give you one by a deed poll for real."

The fate of Gino's new name was left with the audience, who were given a choice of three names such as Keith, Juice or Sheffield.

Sheffield received the loudest cheers, and a lawyer who had already been prepped was ready and waiting with the official documents.

These were presented to the Italian chef with the forms to confirm that his new name would be Gino Sheffield D'Acampo.

Keith then asked him what his wife Jessica Stellina Morrison would think of his new name, to which Gino revealed: "My wife is going to kill me."

In 2024, the TV star opened up about the name change which he revealed upset his mother and cost him thousands of pounds in fees.

Gino admitted that he agreed to do it because he "was drunk," and added: "I was not in a mind state which was normal, and I Iost the bet.

"I just said it like that, 'Yeah, yeah, whatever', not thinking that those idiots would bring me the piece of paper for me to sign and send it off.

"So I had a nightmare for two, three years of passports, American visas," he added on the White Wine Question Time podcast,

Speaking on his mother's reaction, he disclosed: "When she found out that my name was not a beautiful Italian name any more, but was Gino Sheffield D'Acampo, oh my God.

"I've got nothing against Sheffield or the people of Sheffield, but for a true Italian to have Sheffield in the middle of his name. We had to have it removed for an American visa.

"How am I going to explain to the American people I was drunk. So I went to the lawyers and the lawyer said 'do everybody a favour, can we please go back to your real name'. This is how it happened, but six, seven years later."