Jeremy Kyle is set to give evidence at an inquest into the tragic death of a man who took his own life after appearing on his controversial TV show. Steve Dymond, 63, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, is believed to have ended his life just seven days after filming for the Jeremy Kyle Show in May 2019.
The troubled guest had taken a lie detector test on the programme after being accused of infidelity by his partner, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport, Hampshire. Winchester Coroner's Court was informed that Mr Dymond died at his home due to a lethal combination of a morphine overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy in his heart.
The same court expects Mr Kyle to appear this Friday to provide evidence to the inquest. It was previously revealed at the inquest that Mr Dymond had made 40 to 50 "desperate" calls attempting to secure a spot as a guest on the ITV show.
The court also heard that he had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder in 1995 and had taken overdoses on four separate occasions in January 1995, twice in December 2002 and in April 2005. Furthermore, it was disclosed that he had attempted to cut his wrists in December 2002.
Chris Wissun, who was the director of content compliance at ITV at the time, told the hearing that Mr Dymond's initial application to the show was rejected because he had revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression and was taking anti-depressants. He added that a producer had drafted a headline for Mr Dymond's first application on April 9 which read "Missing viagra and lies about being in the navy, are you a cheat?".
Mr Wissun detailed the exceptional nature of Mr Dymond's situation, highlighting its singularity: "We were told that was very unusual, the fact that Mr Dymond, having been turned down the first time, he reapplied to the show having gained a GP letter."
He indicated this was an unprecedented move as one of the aftercare team had never seen a guest present a GP letter in support of their participation: "We were told that was a very unusual circumstance, one of the aftercare team hadn't seen a guest present a GP letter to try to support their taking part before."
The process for handling such a GP endorsement wasn't set in stone, and in Mr Dymond's instance, they accepted it at face value: "There was no established process on how to treat a GP letter, in Mr Dymond's case it was taken on face value."
Nevertheless, a one-to-one evaluation was conducted even after Mr Dymond provided the GP's note, explained Mr Wissun. He also clarified policies regarding the lie detector segment of the show: "The lie detector test was not offered to anyone currently diagnosed with depression," adding that "The lie detector test was a feature of the show which had been used by the show throughout its run."
It was brought to light that many individuals specifically sought to be on the show for the polygraph test, just like Mr Dymond: "Quite a lot of potential guests applied to come on the show specifically to take a lie detector as Mr Dymond did."
On the matter of aftercare, Mr Wissun described the recognition and response by the program: the show identified the necessity of aftercare early and reinforced services through the welfare team who supported guests "at all stages of recording" Addressing concerns about recruitment for the show, he added: "The show didn't target unstable people, part of the process was only people who were able to take part and competent in mental health terms to take part should do so. It's true the show sought people to take part who had an issue or a problem, that was the central purpose of the show to try and discuss and hopefully resolve the problems."
Mr Wissun also informed the inquest that the potential vulnerability of guests was "recognised by the fact that the show had its own bespoke aftercare team".
"Not all programmes, in fact very few programmes, had its own team of medically trained welfare people," he added. Mr Wissun stated that he was informed the audience was not instructed to be "hostile or derisory" towards guests.
He said: "We were told that the audience was not being deliberately directed to be hostile or derisory towards guests, they were there to watch what happened and watch what was said and their responses were a natural reaction of a group of people listening to the same story."
"In this particular episode I think at one point Jeremy does turn to the audience and asks for a straw poll of who believes Mr Dymond."
Mr Wissun mentioned that he was informed Mr Kyle was "very receptive" to advice from the aftercare team about whether he needed to adapt or soften his presenting style for specific guests.
He emphasised it was a "very important" part of guest welfare processes that guests were giving "informed consent" to participate and that they "understood the nature of the format and also the style of the presenter".
The hearing continues.
The Samaritans can be reached on 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
