Pirates of the Caribbean crew say Johnny Depp was a 'nightmare' to work with

Working with Johnny Depp on Pirates of the Caribbean was a "nightmare", crew say.

Filming the upcoming Pirates Of The Caribbean instalment on the Gold Coast was plagued with many problems - and apparently Johnny Depp was the main one.

Jackie "O" Henderson revealed on her KIIS 106.5 breakfast show this morning the crew on the Queensland set struggled working with the 53-year-old actor, describing the experience as a "nightmare".

"I remember talking to some crew members from Pirates Of The Caribbean and they just said, 'Working on that was a nightmare,'" The Kyle & Jackie O host told listeners.

She added the actor would apparently go missing following arguments with his now-estranged wife Amber Heard and not show up on set.

"He would never turn up because they were always fighting," she said. "She would drive him up the wall, and he'd never turn up on set."

Apparently Depp would frequently go missing due to fights with Amber Heard. Photo / AP

The intel came out while Jackie and her co-host Kyle Sandilands discussed the recent news surrounding Depp and Heard's separation.

Bizarre reports came out that Depp cut off his fingertip in a booze-fuelled rage over suspicions Heard was cheating on him with another actor.

TMZ reports Depp dipped his bloody stump in blue paint and used it to scrawl the names of Heard and her suspected lover, Billy Bob Thornton, on a mirror. It's claimed the incident unfolded at the luxurious Gold Coast compound the pair stayed at while filming the fifth Pirates instalment.

The news lines up with reports that came out at the time about Depp's behaviour on set. Filming was shut down and he flew back to Los Angeles after he injured his hand during, what was reported at the time, a "wild weekend".

After undergoing and recovering from surgery on his hand, Depp then failed to board his scheduled private charter flight back to Australia to resume filming.

"I would like to be absolutely clear that Johnny Depp is not in home rehab for alcohol," a spokesman for the production told the Gold Coast Bulletin at the time, responding to tabloid reports.

"He is recuperating from his injury and surgery on his hand. The delay is not extended. It is dependent upon recuperation from surgery."

While filming was shut down, angry crew members hit out at the actor.

"It's quite unprofessional of Johnny to leave everyone waiting and wondering what's happening," one told the Bulletin.

"Everyone wants to know if Johnny Depp is going to pay us all to compensate us for the two weeks' pay we've all lost," another added.