He is one of the most beloved TV chefs on the small screen. And it’s fair to say has only gone from strength to strength since he rose to fame in the mid-2000s. The TV star quickly became a fan-favourite when he appeared on to cook up a storm for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

At the time, the blonde bombshell struggled to appreciate his mouth-watering delicacies, famously comparing one dish to a “British carbonara”. Since then, he has been crowned the King of the Jungle, launched an ITV series with Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix and opened a series of restaurants. But what fans may not know is that the Italian chef had his first brush with fame for all the wrong reasons.

As the culinary expert celebrates his 47th birthday with a bang, Daily Star has taken a deep dive into his criminal past with musician Paul Young. In the late 1990s, Gino was caught breaking into the Streetband and Q-Tips singer’s home. The star was just 21-years-old and was working as a waiter at The Orchard restaurant in London at the time of the offence.

The TV favourite entered the 67-year-old’s home in Mill Hill, North London back in 2009 and helped himself to many of the star’s possessions. This included one of the star’s platinum records and a prized guitar that was worth a staggering £4,000. Thankfully, Paul got most of his property back after he reported the break in.

Gio – who had only been living in the UK for a few years – was quickly caught when his DNA matched tests .