KYLE SHOW ‘PUSHED GUESTS TO DO DRUGS’
‘They visited dealers en route to TV studios’ New suicide links in bombshell revelations
GUeStS on the Jeremy Kyle Show were encouraged to take drugs and drink alcohol before filming, according to a new investigation.
it also linked five more suicide attempts to the programme including that of a guest who claimed she took an overdose in the taxi home after being forced to appear despite changing her mind.
itv axed the show earlier this month after the suspected suicide of guest Stephen Dymond, 63, who had failed a lie detector test during filming.
the disturbing new allegations – which itv has strongly denied – were made last night in the Channel 4 documentary Dispatches Jeremy Kyle: tv On trial. One source told reporter Morland Sanders that drug- using participants were encouraged to take a detour to visit their dealer en route to the studio in taxis paid for by the show.
Another former producer said: ‘researchers, assistant producers and sometimes producers would smoke weed with guests in the hotels the day before to keep them happy. if guests were becoming flaky, they’d appease them in any way they could.’
the source described how efforts – including ‘leaving money lying around’ – were made to get one contributor, a former addict, back on drugs. ‘the show wanted them to be on drugs because there was no “story” without it,’ the source said.
A producer employed to make a fly- on-the-wall documentary about the show in 2012 claimed he saw alcohol being given to guests for ‘medicinal purposes’.
He said: ‘i would see cans of lager … going backwards and forwards. i was told some of the contributors were alcoholics and the show was allowed to give alcoholics medicinal alcohol to keep them topped up.’
Dispatches also heard from guests who described trying to kill themselves after their experiences on the show. Stacey talley said she made a suicide attemptttt iin ththe ttaxii home from the studio after she and her partner Les were made to go on the show to take a lie detector over infidelity last May despite trying to pull out of filming.
She said: ‘i even said that i’ve had problems before with my depression and i’ve tried to take my life before. they knew i was vulnerable. i was like, “i can’t do this”.’ But she claimed she was told after signing a contract to be on the show, ‘the control is out of your hands – you’re screwed, you’re going on’.
Miss talley said that after taking an overdose in the taxi home, she ended up in hospital for three days. Another former guest, Dwayne Davison, who appeared twice in 2014 and 2015, told Dispatches he tried to commit suicide after being dubbed the most hated guest ever.
Dispatches also looked at the show’s use of lie detector tests.
Professor ray Bull, a professor of criminal investigation at Derby University, said they ‘should never be used to say whether somebody is actually telling the truth or not – it’s just an indication’.
He said polygraph tests measured ‘bodily reaction to emotion and stress’, and guests were already tense before testing because they were in highly emotive situations. Former guest Peter Franks, 38, claimed producers fabricated a story about his wife cheating and getting pregnant after a threesome, requiring them to take fake lie detector tests.
itv strongly denied allegations of encouraging or facilitating drug use, saying: ‘this is untrue. itv would never condone illegal drug taking.’
it also said alcohol was banned in the studio, but for a ‘small number’ of guests going to rehab after the show it was dispensed by professionals ‘to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms’.
itv said it had been aware of Miss talley’s suicide bid and organised counselling sessions.
‘They knew I was vulnerable’