Viewers shocked by “disturbing” Jeremy Kyle documentary

*Content warning: This article contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, you should call the emergency services on 999 or 112.*

"So sad that it took what happened to Steve for people to see how truly shocking it actually was."

Last night, Channel 4 aired a documentary which told the stories of those who were involved with ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show. Jeremy Kyle: Death on Daytime explored the effects the TV show had on its participants in the lead up to the death of Steve Dymond in 2019. Mr Dymond appeared on the now cancelled reality show, where he was subject to a lie detector test after his fiancée Jane Callaghan suspected that he had cheated on her. As the documentary laid bare, one of Mr Dymond's final text messages to Ms Callaghan implicated the Jeremy Kyle Show. It read: "I hope the Jeremy Kyle show is so happy now."

As well as covering the impact The Jeremy Kyle Show had on Mr Dymond, the documentary detailed accounts from other people who were featured on the show.

One man said that the show cost him his job. He said: "There were certain buttons that were pressed, that shouldn’t have been pressed on that day." At a later point in the show he said: "It cost me my job in security because you can’t hold a security license if you have a criminal record. "I thought about Steve and I can’t help feeling that that could quite easily have been me." His son said: "My dad had been getting wound up all day long by the producers and it’s like everyone involved in the show had a hidden agenda to wind him up." Many viewers took to Twitter to share how shocked they were by the documentary. One wrote: "As someone who used to watch the #jeremykyleshow I feel so uncomfortable with the way the unseen footage is making me feel. I have no idea how anyone (myself included) used to watch it. #deathondaytime." Another wrote: "This Jeremy Kyle documentary is extremely [disturbing] to say the very very least. So sad that it took what happened to Steve for people to see how truly shocking it actually was. #jeremykyle." An inquest into Mr Dymond's death is ongoing. In response to the documentary, ITV issued a statement saying that they do not "accept the central allegation of this programme of a 'bad culture' within the production team." They added: "ITV would never condone any of its production staff misleading or lying to guests."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support is available. You can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 at any time of day, or you can email them by contacting jo@samaritans.org.

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, you should call the emergency services on 999 or 112.

entertainment

Viewers shocked by “disturbing” Jeremy Kyle documentary

"So sad that it took what happened to Steve for people to see how truly shocking it actually was."