Trigger warning: some readers may find this article disturbing.
The inquest of the man who took his own life after appearing on ITV‘s The Jeremy Kyle Show has just been shown never-before-seen footage of his time on the program, in which a weeping Steve Dymond can be seen pleading with the host over the accuracy of lie detectors and whether he had been unfaithful.
Dymond’s inquest is taking place this week. He took his own life seven days after filming for the now-axed Jeremy Kyle Show and footage from the episode has never been viewed until now. The footage can be seen below.
In the past couple of hours, Sky News has broadcast the footage, which shows Dymond pleading and in tears as he was accused of being a liar by Kyle, next to his partner Jane.
He was asked if he had been unfaithful to Jane and responded “No” but the show’s lie detectors, which have since been called into question, said he was lying.
Dymond can be seen pleading with Kyle and his partner Jane saying that he had been faithful, as Jane also weeps.
Kyle, who now hosts a show on TalkTV, responded dismissively and said: “I wouldn’t trust you with a chocolate button mate, I don’t think you even know what the truth is.”
He added: “A serial liar goes on The Jeremy Kyle Show and does a lie detector test and now, ‘My test is wrong’.” Kyle later told Dymond he had “categorically failed” and “we stand 100% by that.”
But while Kyle talked up the accuracy of the lie detectors, they have been called into question since the show was axed almost immediately after Dymond took his own life.
During a heated hearing with the DCMS Committee in June 2019, ITV Studios execs were chided for an “astonishing” and “irresponsible” lack of knowledge of the effectiveness of lie detectors. Julian Bellamy and Tom McLennan had been unable to state the percentage accuracy of the lie detectors but had said they were “not 100% accurate.”
Some experts speaking to the committee had suggested their accuracy could be as low as two-thirds. At the time, then-committee chair Damian Collins said: “We all know that if it wasn’t for the lie detectors, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
Kyle says he “de-escalated” situation
Speaking today at the inquest, the BBC reported that Kyle said he did not set out to humiliate Dymond, going as far as to say he “de-escalated” the situation.
“From the moment Steve Dymond came out, I called him ‘mate’, I called him ‘pal,’” the BBC reported Kyle said. “I calmed it down, I pushed it backstage. And that was what the show was all about – conflict resolution.”
According to the BBC, the presenter was asked by inquest counsel Rachel Spearing whether he felt Dymond was “humiliated” on the show, and Kyle replied: “No. I’ve read that I called him a traitor. No I didn’t. It was the show as I understood the show.”
Since The Jeremy Kyle Show was axed, there has been a duty of care reckoning in the UK TV industry and broadcasters now have stricter measures when it comes to finding contestants.
The inquest into Dymond’s death continues.