Gino D'Acampo reportedly decided to quit Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip because of unmet contract requests, which included his request to have lie-ins.
It was announced over the weekend that chef Gino, 46, had decided to quit the popular ITV travel show. He told fans that he won't be filming any episodes moving forward.
He has worked on the show with Gordon Ramsay, 56, and Fred Sirieix, 51, since it debuted in 2018. A new series - which has already been filmed - is due to air later this year.
Gino suggested his exit was due to issues over filming dates and "complicated" schedules. He further suggested that he wanted to prioritise his friendships with his co-stars.
It's now been claimed that Gino's decision to quit the show came after requests that he allegedly made over his contract weren't met by his co-stars.
Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundariesA source claimed to the Sun that tensions haven't been over money, allegeding that the three co-stars get paid "exactly the same" for the travel and food project.
The source said: "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."
The source also claimed that Gino - whose career has seen him appear on shows like This Morning and I'm A Celebrity - made it known that he isn't keen on "early starts".
"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 continued.
The source said: "Gordon and Fred are obviously quite frustrated and couldn't kowtow to his requests." It's claimed that things are currently "pretty tense" between them.
It was claimed earlier this week that Gino's departure had surprised "everybody connected" to the ITV show, with this reportedly including his co-stars Gordon and Fred.
Gino stated in his announcement earlier this week: "Last week, I have decided not to film any more Gordon, Gino and Fred Road Trips. The reason is simple ... I mean nothing to do with Gordon and Fred. The friendship is very strong".
"It's just because we can't get the dates together and 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's always very complicated so because of that and also because [of] contracts.
"When contracts they start to get very complicated, then it becomes very stressful. And I personally value the friendship with Gordon and Fred so much that I [would] rather the friendship than getting arguments with the contracts.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'"So I've decided not to do [the show] anymore because I want to be friends with the boys for many, many years ahead. [...] Thank you for watching the show."