Jeremy Kyle breaks silence on tragic suicide of show guest Steve Dymond

JEREMY Kyle has spoken for the first time since the inquest into the suicide of Steve Dymond, and staunchly defended his part in the fall-out: “What happened was a tragedy, but to blame other people is wrong.”

He has also hit back at his detractors, and those who criticised the hugely popular ITV1 daytime show, insisting the programme ratings spoke for themselves.

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The star, 59, has also detailed the mental and physical toll the past five and a half years – since tragic Steve, 63, took his own life on May 9th 2019 – has had on him.

But the humbled broadcaster was prescribed anti-depressant Citalopram in the wake of the tragedy.

He says: “Let’s not forget first and foremost somebody took their life because they were in a position where they saw no way out.

“I haven’t spoken for five and a half 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 .

“And then my next thought was about the hundred people that worked for the show who lost their jobs overnight – some of them even had their mortgages cancelled. I remember at the time just being in this bubble of not even understanding what had happened, but I get it. I get the criticism.

“I think everybody would probably question [themselves] when something like that happens. “You look at yourself in the mirror, of course you do. You would be inhuman not to, wouldn’t you?

“Listen, I know that I did that show to the best of my ability. I’m sure I didn’t get it right the whole time.

“But my conscience is clear. The coroner was right in that there was nothing I did or could have done to stop this tragedy. I was presenting a show. Steve had been cleared to appear by both ITV’s aftercare ream and his own GP.”

Today, speaking from a central London studio, Jeremy arrives looking exhausted, and pretty fragile.

He has, he says, lost a stone over the past seven days during the widely-covered inquest at Winchester’s Coroner’s Court.

In his conclusion, the coroner stated he had found neither Jeremy or the broadcaster caused Steve’s death. 

He adds: “Recently we were shown messages which Steve sent to Jane and his family after appearing on the show and not a single one criticises or complains about me, None of this should have been about me.”

In a sadly ironic twist of fate, Tuesday, the day of the ruling was also World Suicide Prevention Day – something that isn’t lost on the presenter.

“We should be looking at the central reason of why any man or woman gets to a point where they’re that desperate. And that’s why, I guess, it’s taken as long as it has.

“I felt it wrong that everybody piled in: It was a dreadful time for everyone.  But I became the focus of journalists, members of the public and social media; Their judgement seemingly on me and the show. There was much more to the story and I think that needed to come out eventually.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had some great people around me, who have dragged me out of this and there are, of course,  many other people who have suffered, as well, but you know what?

“Bitterness, NO anger, NO resentment, NO revenge, NO that’s rubbish. Victim mentality, no  rubbish – we all just need to get on as best we can.”

To recap, Steve Dymond appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show in may 2019 in a bid to win back his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan after she suspected him of cheating on her.

He denied being unfaithful, but failed a lie detector test.

Steve, who had a history of mental health issues and previously tried to take his own life on four occasions, overdosed seven days later.

After being rejected from the programme a month earlier over concerns for his well-being, he got a letter of good health from his own GP, and he was consistently calling producers to let him appear, calling up to 50 times to be allowed to do so.

Aftercare records showed he later showed no dissatisfaction with Jeremy or the ITV show about his treatment.  Jane also told them how much she enjoyed the show and how great Jeremy was.

But his heartbreaking death prompted the immediate cancellation of the show – the network’s most popular daytime programme – after 14 years.

It also instigated a parliamentary inquiry into the broadcaster’s treatment of reality show contestants.

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Recalling the moment he was first told about Steve’s suicide in ITV’s Manchester studios, he says: “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 yes 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 towering 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.’

Of course, much has been written over the intervening years about the nature of The Jeremy Kyle Show. It was dubbed “poverty porn” by commentators, and “classist television” – mocking the struggling working classes.

How does he feel about the label, and is he proud of his work on that show – one that drew well over a million viewers a day?

“We put thousands of people into detox and rehab and thousands of people found out who their REAL parents were, we resolved a lot of conflict and solved lots of problems. 

“And I am proud of that, and all those who worked on that show, and some of what we did. I get it though – this is TV from a bygone era, and it would, quite rightly, not ever be put on again today.

“I mean, there were other shows out there that were doing similar things: You think of Benefit Street, you think of Don’t Pay, We’ll Take It Away!

“I always had this belief that, yes, it was a vehicle of its time. And people loved it or they hated it.

“It was like Marmite. And a lot of people watched it because it was relatable it made them feel better about their own lives – maybe Voyeuristic, absolutely. It was cult viewing.

“But the world changed. And absolutely, that show could not be brought back now in any way, shape or form.

“Somebody said to me once, what will your legacy be? And I’ll tell you: A father of six who managed to get through bringing up six amazing children and still manages to walk in a straight line. And that, honestly, is enough for me.”

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