The Jeremy Kyle Show axed by ITV after death of guest
The Jeremy Kyle Show has been axed by ITV after the death of a guest who took part in the programme.
Steve Dymond was found dead on 9 May a week after filming the show, during which he took a lie detector test.
ITV’s chief executive Carolyn McCall said the decision was a result of the “gravity of recent events”.
The channel had initially suspended filming of the show, which had been on the air for more than 3,000 episodes since it began in 2005.
On Tuesday, the prime minister’s spokesman called Mr Dymond’s death “deeply concerning”.
ITV’s statement in full:
“Given the gravity of recent events we have decided to end production of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
“The Jeremy Kyle Show has had a loyal audience and has been made by a dedicated production team for 14 years, but now is the right time for the show to end.
“Everyone at ITV’s thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of Steve Dymond.
“The previously announced review of the episode of the show is under way and will continue.
“ITV will continue to work with Jeremy Kyle on other projects.”
The Jeremy Kyle Show was the most popular programme in ITV’s daytime schedule, with an average of one million viewers and a 22% audience share.
The pre-recorded episode Mr Dymond took part in was based on the subject of infidelity.
A member of the audience who was at the recording told BBC News that Mr Dymond “collapsed to the ground” and was “sobbing” when he failed the lie detector test.
Lie detectors were a regular fixture on the programme, which often featured disputes between partners and family members.
Critics said it put vulnerable people, often with issues of addiction and mental health, on a public platform – bringing them a level of exposure they may not have expected.
After Mr Dymond’s death, ITV took all planned episodes off the air, adding that the episode featuring Mr Dymond would never be screened.
TV critic Emma Bullimore told BBC 5 Live she was surprised by the speed of the decision.
“Usually these things take a review, and it’s ages, but with this one the public opinion and the pressure they were under was so strong that they didn’t really have another option,” she said.
ITV has said it will still work with the host, who also fronts The Kyle Files.
“I don’t think this is the end of this kind of television,” Bullimore added. “The voices we’re hearing are the people who have always disliked the Jeremy Kyle show, always found it exploitative, and are saying, ‘We told you something like this was going to happen.’
“There’s no getting away from the fact that whether you like it or you find it reprehensible, there is a loyal audience for this show.”
Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, was among those who welcomed the decision to pull the show.
Jeremy Kyle consisted of putting vulnerable people from disadvantaged backgrounds in stocks to have eggs thrown at them; it fuelled an agenda of demonising poorer people which helped legitimise cuts to the welfare state. Good riddance.
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) May 15, 2019
Piers Morgan, who hosts Good Morning Britain – a show Jeremy Kyle has previously guest presented – defended the host on Twitter.
As everyone piles on Jeremy Kyle, I'd like to say he's a great guy, an excellent broadcaster, and hugely popular with the vast majority of people who watched & appeared (voluntarily) on his top-rated show. So much snobbery & hypocrisy being spewed by his critics. pic.twitter.com/d9ZhTGjWaT
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 15, 2019
Former EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook, who has appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, praised the care she was given.
Appearing on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine Show, she said: “If it wasn’t for Jeremy Kyle I probably wouldn’t be alive myself.”
She added: “They really have looked after me and you know, since I’ve been in rehab I’ve spoken to Jeremy all the time and [psychotherapist] Graham [Stanier] and the team, and went I went back on the show, reassessed and [I was] really looked after.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme, former ITV chief executive Stuart Prebble said the cancellation was “a good decision”, but that producers “do take seriously their duty of care”.
‘Tip-toeing close to the edge’
He said: “I think they will have known that they were in very sensitive territory. I would never have commissioned this programme if I’d had any involvement.
“The producers of these programmes walk a very thin line and and they know they do. If you are always tip-toeing close to the edge as I think this show did, perhaps it is not surprising that something like this will eventually happen.
“They [ITV] have done the right thing – a speedy and effective review, and the faster these things are dealt with the better.”
A spokesman for broadcasting regulator Ofcom said: “While ITV has decided to cancel the programme, its investigation into what happened is continuing and we will review the findings carefully.”
All previous episodes of The Jeremy Kyle Show have been taken down from the channel’s catch-up service, ITV Hub. Episodes will not air on ITV2 either, and the show’s YouTube channel has been deleted.
A spokeswoman for Portsmouth coroner’s office said an inquest into Mr Dymond’s death would be likely to be opened within the next few days, following the result of the post-mortem investigation.
What does a lie detector test involve?
The lie detectors used on The Jeremy Kyle show are supplied by a company called UK Lie Tests, which declined to comment to the BBC.
A lie detector test, or polygraph test, involves an examiner using various instruments to measure the subject’s reaction to a series of questions – and determine whether or not they are giving truthful answers.
According to the British Polygraph Association (BPA), two convoluted rubber pneumograph tubes are placed around the subject’s chest and abdomen to record breathing and movement.
Sensors attached to the subject’s fingers or hand monitor changes to skin resistance during the test, while a cardiosphygmograph traces changes to the subject’s blood pressure and pulse.
Various charts are then generated, which the examiner reviews to establish the test results.
The BPA says the tests are “the most reliable technique to test if someone is being deceptive to a specific issue”. BBC News
