Jeremy Kyle ‘may have contributed to death of guest on his show’

‘Just so you know, he’s still crying, he has just said he wishes he was dead. Just giving you the heads up’

JEREMY KYLE may have “caused or contributed” to a guest’s suicide, a coroner has said, as it emerged that producers were warned the man “wished he was dead” after failing a lie-detector test.

Steve Dymond, 63, was found dead in a suspected suicide at his home in Portsmouth, Hants, seven days after he filmed for The Jeremy Kyle Show in May 2019.

He died from a morphine overdose and a heart problem, a pre-inquest review heard yesterday, after he went on the programme to prove he hadn’t cheated on his ex-fiancée.

However, after he failed the lie-detector test, the review heard that the show’s crew was told through a Whats-app message: “Just so you know, he’s still crying, he has just said he wishes he was dead. Just giving you the heads up.”

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, counsel for Mr Dymond’s family, told the hearing in Winchester: “While he was still on the programme, within minutes, he was talking about wishing he was dead.”

Jason Pegg, the coroner, , said Mr Kyle, y , the presenter, was to o be an “interested person” for the inquest uest as someone “who may have caused sed or contributed to the death of Stephen Dymond”. Ms Gallagher gher said that Mr Dymond had become ecome “distressed” after failing ng the lie-detector test, as he had gone on t he show to “prove his fidelity” but ut was “booed and nd jeered” by the audidience and “called a failailure by the presenter”. ter”.

She said Mr Kyle was “in his face” and even when Mr Dymond was “at the point of collapsing, he was still being heckled”. Leslie Dymond, Mr Dymond’s brother, said in a statement read to the hearing: “He seemed completely broken and frightened and told me he couldn’t go on living.”

Following Mr Dymond’s death, ITV bosses cancelled The Jeremy Kyle Show. Mr Dymond had been receiving mental healthcare and had been originally turned down to appear on the show, but was later accepted after being given a letter from his doctor. Lawyers for Mr Kyle and ITV argued that Mr Dymond’s “upsetting experience” on the show was “established fact” and the scope of the inquest should not be a “detailed, top-to-bottom inquiry into The Jeremy Kyle Show, its selection, treatment and aftercare of participants”. “It would not be required to call for evidence from ITV employees involved in his appearance to get to that starting point,” Neil Sheldon QC said. Merry Varney, who represents the family of Mr Dymond, said in a statement: “Today’s y confirmation that how Steve came to be on the Jeremy Kyle Show, h how he was treated on it and the aftercare provided wi will all form part of the coro coroner’s inquest gives us real confidence Steve’s death will be fully and fearles fearlessly investigated.” The coroner said a jury would not be required for the full hearing next summer.

ITV was contacted for comment.