TV bosses urged to cancel Jeremy Kyle Show for good following lie-detector guest’s death

Jeremy Kyle's controversial daytime programme has been pulled off air indefinitely (Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)Jeremy Kyle's controversial daytime programme has been pulled off air indefinitely (Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)
Jeremy Kyle's controversial daytime programme has been pulled off air indefinitely (Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

ITV has been urged to cancel the Jeremy Kyle Show for good, with politicians slamming the programme following the apparent suicide of a man who failed one of the show’s lie detector tests.

The controversial daytime programme was pulled off air indefinitely after a man named by The Sun as 63 year old Steve Dymond was found dead a week after filming an episode.

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Now, Tory MP Charles Walker - a vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on suicide and self-harm prevention - told the Daily Mail, "On reflection, ITV would be best advised just to stop it. It's a very, very unattractive TV show and I'm surprised it's gone on so long."

‘Car-crash TV’

MP Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said TV companies "have a duty to care to the people who take part in their programmes".

Tory MP Simon Hart, who also sits on the committee, described the Jeremy Kyle Show as "car-crash TV which revels in people's terrible misfortune and sometimes their vulnerabilities".

All episodes of the show have now been taken off on-demand service ITV Hub, and re-runs will not be shown on ITV 2.

What happened to Mr Dymond?

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Mr Dymond had gone on the show to take a lie detector test to prove to his fiance, Jane Callaghan, that he had not been unfaithful to her. When he failed the test, the couple split.

He was found dead by his landlady 10 days after the Jeremy Kyle episode was filmed. Before he died, he texted his fiance saying that he could not live without her.

Ms Callaghan told The Sun, "We got engaged Christmas Day 2017. He was crying, the love was real. He was the most generous and loving person.

"He was quietly struggling and we didn't know at the time. He cheated on me, I know he did. I can't forgive but I just want him to be alive."

Will The Jeremy Kyle Show be back on TV?

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ITV announced that the episode due to be broadcast on Monday 13 May was cancelled following the announcement of Mr Dymond’s death.

A spokesperson for the channel revealed, "Everyone at ITV and The Jeremy Kyle Show is shocked and saddened at the news of the death of a participant in the show a week after the recording of the episode they featured in and our thoughts are with their family and friends”.

The statement concluded with the words, “ITV will not screen the episode in which they featured”.

The broadcaster also said the episode featuring the participant who died will be submitted for a review due to the "seriousness of this event".

ITV has also confirmed that any future filming and broadcasting of the programme will be suspended while a review of the episode is being conducted.