Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Jeremy Kyle has opened up on the moment he found out former guest Steve Dymond had died seven days after filming.
The TV presenter, 59, was included in part of an inquest at Winchester’s Coroner’s Court, which concluded earlier this week that The Jeremy Kyle Show’s treatment of Dymond was not a 'contributory factor' to his death.
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The episode, filmed in May 2019, saw Dymond, 63, become 'distraught' after he failed a lie detector test in which he hoped would prove he didn't cheat on his fiancee, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport, Hampshire.
Dymond died by suicide a week after the show was filmed.
Recalling the tragic moment, Kyle told The Sun: “I went to the office on the morning, I think, of the 9th, and I was sat in my dressing room and one of the show executives came in and told me the tragic news and you just think ‘Oh my God’.
“It was such a shock. Filming was cancelled, I went home and I never went back to the Manchester studios.
“I spent that weekend not knowing what to think and then, rightly so, everything then about the show is pointless because all you think about is this guy being in that dreadful position.
“I looked at the Steve Dymond clips in my lawyer’s office for the first time and I was worried watching it because it had already been widely reported I had allegedly bullied him, shouted at him and egged on the audience to boo him.
“That I pounced on him, called him a traitor, heckled him and got in his face.
“It was reported I called him a failure, that I threw the lie detector in his face and that he was so distressed he collapsed on stage, and that we wouldn’t let him leave the studio.
“But I watched it and I can categorically say none of these things happened.
“But when I watched it, I thought, I didn’t shout and scream. I wasn’t cowering over him. I took him backstage and calmed him and the situation down.
“I saw me say ‘hello mate, hello pal’, make a joke with him, give him the results and be very straight with him.
“I took him backstage, tried to de-escalate it, and I remember saying to him, ‘She [Jane] loves you. You don’t need to lie — tell her the truth, we’ll help put you back together.’”
He added: “I haven’t spoken for five years out of respect because there was a legal process that dragged on and on for many reasons.
“It should never have been about me. It’s about Steve and his family. That was my first thought when I found out.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Jeremy Kyle, Celebrity, TV
Anish Vij