ITV's much-loved Italian chef Gino D'Acampoquit his popular travel series alongside hospitality mogul pals Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix because he was denied lie-ins, according to reports.

The former I'm A Celebrity winner, 46, announced his departure from the show at the weekend and it's now been claimed that he made a string of demands during contract negotiations for the widely-adored series, Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip.

The father-of-three and This Morning special guest chef is also reportedly in the midst of a battle to save his friendship with his two co-stars amid his shock exit from their joint project.

A source told The Sun: "Contrary to popular belief, the row wasn’t over money — all three men get paid exactly the same.

"Instead, Gino, who loves a party, wanted all sorts of caveats put into his contract around working hours so that he could effectively stay up late and have a bit of a lie-in before filming. He doesn’t like early starts — and made that clear.

"He also didn’t want to work more than six months of the year which, given the tight schedules they all have, was never going to be practical."

The source added that Hell's Kitchen frontman Gordon, 56, and First Dates maître d' Fred, 51, are "quite frustrated" over the situation, and refused to "kowtow to his requests".

Gino's representative and ITV have both been approached by OK! for comment.

Meanwhile, MailOnline revealed Gino's decision came as a shock to Fred in particular, who had reportedly been talking about working with Gino just a few days before his announcement.

It also came just two weeks after the French presenter told the newspaper that the trio were "getting there" when it came to their contracts for the latest series.

Continuing to say that the atmosphere between the trio have been "pretty tense", The Sun's source also claimed that Gino has left ITV "blindsided" after admitting he wants to quit the show.

Chef and presenter Gino announced his departure from the series on Sunday 19 March, in what came as a shock to fans.

He explained: "Last week I decided not to film any more Gordon, Gino and Fred Road Trip, the reason is simple, nothing to do with Gordon and Fred – the friendship is very strong.

"It’s just because we can’t get the dates together and sometimes when we do get the dates together sometimes they get changed and it causes a lot of problems for me because I have other stuff that I have to do.

"Personal problems as well because when I have to change things with my family it is very complicated and also because contracts.

"Because contracts start to become very complicated and very stressful, I personally value the friendship with Gordon and Fred so much that I would rather the friendship than arguments with the contract.

"So I have decided not to do it anymore because I want to be friends with the boys for many, many years ahead."

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