THEATRE OF CRUELTY
Calls for programme to be axed after lie-test ‘suicide’ TV insider says guests were ‘ruthlessly broken’ Some tell how they came close to killing themselves
PRESSURE is mounting on ITV to axe The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Psychiatrist Professor Sir Simon Wessely slammed it as the “theatre of cruelty”.
After the suspected suicide of Steve Dymond, 63, an insider said people on the show were “torn apart” and then not properly cared for.
A TV producer hired to film behind the scenes at The Jeremy Kyle Show says he was “horrified” by the level of aftercare given to guests whose lives had just been shattered.
Gavin Hill claims the ITV show’s team “ruthlessly broke” people who went on the programme then tried to put them back together in 10 minutes.
He said: “It was distressing to see so many worlds torn apart and so little done to mend them afterwards.”
His comments came as pressure grew on ITV to drop the series permanently.
It has been suspended after the suspected suicide of a guest who failed a lie detector on the programme.
Gavin said his footage in 2012 was for the show’s website and that he often saw guests “in great distress”.
He added: “It was shocking the very little amount of ointment they put on these people before they sent them away – the box is ticked, we’ve done our bit.
“It was like a sticking plaster. I found it horrific watching this take place.”
After guests leave the stage they normally talk to the show’s consultant psychotherapist Graham Stanier, who leads the duty of care effort and has worked on the programme since it was launched in 2005.
Gavin said: “Graham tried to put their lives back together before they left – but what struck me was how they’d ruthlessly broken them in the first place.
“Then they’d hastily try to glue it back together in 10 minutes afterwards.”
He said one example of this was a man being told he was not the biological father of his child then after the show
being given a 10-minute debrief and being sent home despite his “very high” level of anguish.
Gavin alleged there were several tricks used to make the guests act explosively on stage.
Warring family members were kept apart but Gavin claims they were fed toxic tales of what they had said about each other – often “complete lies”.
ITV put the series on hold after the death of Steve Dymond, 63, who is thought to have killed himself after appearing on the programme. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday: “This is a deeply concerning case. Broadcasters have a responsibility for the mental health and wellbeing of participants and viewers.” Other guests say they were left suicidal after being on the show. David Fox, 58, tried to take his own life after failing a lie detector on the programme in 2014. David, from Weymouth, Dorset, said: “I was telling the truth. I felt like killing myself... I rang up to speak to Graham [Stanier] and the help team, but they gave me no help. The show destroyed me.”
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is among those who believes the show should be axed for ever.
He said: “It should be dropped. It’s the theatre of cruelty. Yes it might entertain a million people a day, but, so did Christians versus lions.” MP Charles Walker said: “The Jeremy Kyle show has run its course.”
He said the show is “based on the bullying of the weak and vulnerable”.
In a leaked email, ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall told staff it would be “inappropriate to continue to broadcast the show when a participant on it has so recently died”.
She added: “This decision is not in any way a reflection on the show, but the best way we think we can protect the show and production team from the reaction we expect to this death.”
Yesterday ITV said The Jeremy Kyle Show had a “significant and detailed” duty of care process with an initial assessment by Graham Stanier and three mental health nurses.
A statement said: “Throughout filming the participants are supported by the guest welfare team in the studios during the recording phase of their show. After filming has ended, all guests are seen by a member of the guest welfare team to ensure they are calm and emotionally settled before any participant leaves to travel home.”
ITV said that if ongoing support was required then it was given. They added contributors were contacted the day after recording and in the days between recording and transmission.
Jeremy, 53, declined yesterday to answer when the Mirror asked how he felt about the show being pulled.
The star – who is thought to be worth £3.5million – was wearing sunglasses and kept his head down after arriving in a blacked-out car at his home in Windsor, Berks.