EMILY PRESCOTT: Phil Schofield’s relief after Gino D’Acampo’s departure from This Morning

When Gino D’Acampo announced he was having a break from TV show This Morning in March, host Phillip Schofield was heard joking under his breath: ‘Thank God for that!’ Could it be anything to do with the fact that Phil lost thousands when Gino’s fast-food chain of pasta bars collapsed with £5 million of debts in January?

Phil owned 2,200 of the 119,000 shares in My Pasta Bars Ltd which served pasta ‘on the go’. The collapse left 49 creditors out of pocket and owed more than £37,000 to staff in unpaid wages.

I guess the pair should be congratulated for hiding any awkwardness when they appeared together on ITV’s flagship show!

Mr D’Acampo, 45, is understood to earn around £2 million annually from television work, including hosting Family Fortunes and regular appearances on This Morning.

He is also a former winner of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.

Back in January it was revealed the celebrity chef’s chain owed £4,939,332 to 49 creditors, in addition to £113,975 to HMRC and £37,887 in staff wages, according to paperwork lodged with Companies House.

Accounts from the parent company show it had £1.65m in investments, which includes £821,494 in property, The Sun reports.

All three of the My Pasta Bars were located in London.

The first opened in Fleet Street in 2013, followed by Leadenhall Market and Bishopsgate.

Inspiration for the restaurant chain was taken from ‘Gino’s own experience of the fresh food markets of Naples’, while it also contains his ‘own breakfast rotolini pastries, authentic antipasti, salads, pastries, speciality breads and Italian desserts’.

His separate restaurant chain, named Gino D’Acampo with venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Harrogate, Leeds, Liverpool and Hull, is unaffected.

That chain, though was bailed out by Iceland supermarket boss Sir Malcolm Walker after facing losses even before lockdown struck.

They are now listed as being part of the Individual Restaurant Group, which is run by Iceland bosses.

The chef grew up in Naples, before moving to the UK and opened his first restaurant age 21.

He told The Daily Mail in January that it is important to bank memories, not money, in relation to his work-life balance.

Gino said: ‘Well, I can see you run here, you run there. The danger is that by running everywhere, you’re missing out on the many beautiful things the world has to offer. My suggestion is to stop running, stop working and enjoy what you’ve built up.’

‘Now I work for six months running my restaurants, then we spend half the year at our vineyard in Sardinia. I don’t do one day more of work than I do of holiday.

‘Otherwise, I see myself as a failure as a father and a husband, because I don’t give enough time to the people around me. I’d rather bank memories than money.’

Smokin’ hot Highclere

The heatwave may have been unbearable for some, but the owner of Highclere Castle, aka Downton Abbey, tells me he had one of his best day’s business ever. The 8th Earl of Carnarvon, George Herbert (that’s Lady Carnarvon, above, soaking up the shade) says the castle raked in record sales of gin cocktails and ice creams, and one group from America even splashed out on 40 cigars.

My lips are sealed, but… 

Which senior parliamentarians have caught the attention of colleagues by getting close? The pair have enjoyed long late-night chats as well as a few sleepovers. Sounds sweet… although I’m not sure her husband would agree!