Gino D’Acampo has admitted he will not be watching England’s European Championship final against Italy because he cannot decide which team to support.
The TV chef, 44, was born in Naples in southern Italy but moved to London aged 19 to pursue a career in the restaurant industry and has lived in the UK ever since.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, D’Acampo told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield he felt conflicted about whether to support his country of birth or adopted home.
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D’Acampo, who shares three children with wife Jessica, said: “Yesterday the game was amazing…and it’s very difficult for me at the moment because Sunday will be a lot of mixed feelings.
“I was born in Italy but have lived my whole life in England, so it’s a difficult one for me – either it’s coming home or it’s going to Rome.”
D’Acampo said he did not plan to watch the final and had instead booked a fishing trip.
Asked about his children, he said: “I think they are sitting more on the English side than the Italian at the moment.
“I cannot watch the game on Sunday.
“It would be like watching two of your children competing with each other.
“So I have decided to go fishing.”
Schofield suggested there were similar tensions within his own family.
He said: “My niece’s boyfriend is Italian, so he was cheering us on during the England games and now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Willoughby said her husband Dan Baldwin’s Italian heritage meant her family was also divided.
She said: “My mother-in-law is Italian and Dan’s brother is definitely going on the Italian side.
“We are on the England side so there’s really a divide in the family.”