Jeremy Kyle guest Steve Dymond told researcher 'I wish I was dead' before suicide
Shocking new details have emerged about the after show care given to Steve Dymond, the Jeremy Kyle Show guest who died after appearing on the daytime show.
The Jeremy Kyle Show was axed by ITV in May after it emerged construction worker Dymond, 63, was believed to have taken his own life a week after failing a lie detector test filmed for the reality show.
A pre-inquest review hearing at Portsmouth Coroner's Court on Monday revealed Dymond’s family have requested internal ITV interview notes from Jeremy Kyle, the assistant producer, a researcher, and the aftercare and polygraph teams.
Read more: Lie detectors may be banned from TV as Ofcom probes 'Jeremy Kyle Show'
Representing Dymond’s family, barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher said that following the recording, Dymond was, “put in a homeward-bound taxi within two hours of telling a researcher that he was really upset and that 'life was nothing without Jane' and said, 'I wish I was dead', or words to that effect.”
ITV's barrister, Simon Antrobus, agreed to provide unedited recording of the show which took place on May 2nd. Jeremy Kyle may also be forced to give evidence at the inquest.
Dymond was found dead in his rented room in Portsmouth on May 9th after splitting from his on-off fiancee Jane Callaghan following the results of his lie detector test. The episode was never aired.
Gallagher said Dymond was “exceptionally vulnerable” and had stopped taking prescribed anti-depressants in order to take the show's polygraph test.
She said: “After his cruel shaming he did not get the appropriate support from the aftercare team.”
Gallagher revealed the amount of time between the suggestion of Dymond appearing on the show and the filming was a “very short” 72-hour period. She said: “For a decision so potentially life-changing, there is no equivalent. There is no cooling off. You are jumped on very quickly.”
She claimed the family had seen “no evidence” that Dymond was given any welfare checks by any qualified mental health staff.
The inquest had been due to take place on 21 November but has now been postponed until 27 April, 2020 to give the family and their legal team time to look at the footage and notes and determine whether they can be used as evidence. The inquest is scheduled to last four days.
Gallagher said the family had been declined legal aid and that their legal team faced a challenging issue of being the only one without funding.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle Show's Graham Stanier: I was not comfortable with Kyle's presenting style
Dymond's cousin, Gerald Brierley, watched the hearing via a video link. Ms Gallagher QC represents him and Dymond's brother, Lesley.
Following Dymond’s death, which police have called a suspected suicide, The Jeremy Kyle Show was axed and the government launched an enquiry into the duty of aftercare given to reality show contestants.
Kyle declined to appear before the Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The show’s Director of Aftercare Graham Stanier and Executive Producer Tom McLennan were subjected to questioning by MPs along with Julian Bellamy, Managing Director of ITV.