Yahoo News Leaked email claims ITV suspended 'Jeremy Kyle Show' to protect its future
The Jeremy Kyle Show was suspended in order “to protect” its future according to a leaked email.
The ITV daytime chat show has been pulled off air after it emerged that guest Steven Dymond had apparently taken his own life just weeks after appearing on the programme.
An email sent by ITV management to staff working on the series has been leaked online, assuring them the suspension was, “not in any way a reflection of the show.”
Read more: Daniella Westbrook defends 'Jeremy Kyle Show' amid calls for it to be axed for good
According to BuzzFeed the email stated: “Some of you may have seen coverage today of the very sad news of the death of one of the participants on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
“We have all been shocked and saddened at this news and have taken the decision to suspend both filming and broadcasting of the show. This was a very difficult decision to make but we felt that it would be inappropriate to continue to broadcast the show when a participant on it has so recently died.
“This decision is not in any way a reflection on the show, but the best way we can protect the show and the production team from the reaction we expect to this death.”
The man believed to have killed himself shortly after taking part on the show has now been identified as Steven Dymond. His relationship ended after he failed a lie detector test.
The 63-year-old grandfather was found dead from a suspected drug overdose at his rented accommodation in Portsmouth, Hampshire ten days after filming on the ITV daytime show.
Dymond appeared on the chat show with his on/off longterm girlfriend Jane Callaghan and was labeled a “love cheat” after failing a lie detector test.
Read more: ‘Jeremy Kyle’ insider says death ‘just the tip of the iceberg’
Miss Callaghan told The Sun newspaper the couple had split after filming the show and shortly before his death Dymond sent her a text saying: "I can’t live without you. I just wanted to come and see you. I just wanted to say sorry before I go. My life is not worth living without you."
Miss Callaghan revealed Dymond had been diagnosed with depression in February but obtained a doctor’s note in order to take part in The Jeremy Kyle Show, insisting her would prove to her had remained faithful.
Dymond had only recently discovered he was a grandfather after reconnecting with his son shortly before appearing on the show. He was yet to meet his grandchild.
His landlady, named only as Shelley, told the Daily Mail, she had informed ITV about his death after ringing a number she found on his phone.
The 55-year-old landlady claimed Dymond had been suicidal after failing the lie detector test.
She said: “He was traumatised. Steve said it got quite nasty on the show. Four days later he was dead. I really believe it was the show that tipped him over the edge."
ITV said it has suspended the show indefinitely so that a full investigation can be carried out and removed all previous episodes from the ITV Hub on demand service.
There have now been calls for the show - which began in 2005 and is now in its 16th series - to be permanently scrapped. Kathy Burke was among celebrities who took to Twitter to call for ITV to cancel it for good.
Hope it's the end of that vile, Kyle show.
— kath 🙀❄️🇪🇺💚 (@KathyBurke) May 13, 2019
Tory MP Charles Walker, a vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on suicide and self-harm prevention, told the Daily Mail: “On reflection, ITV would be best advised just to stop it.”
And MP Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said TV companies “have a duty to care to the people who take part in their programmes”, while Tory MP Simon Hart, who also sits on the committee, described The Jeremy Kyle Show as “car-crash TV which revels in people’s terrible misfortune and sometimes their vulnerabilities”.
A TV insider who claims he used to work on The Jeremy Kyle Show has said the death of a recent guest is “the tip of the iceberg” and accused the programme of “exploiting” vulnerable guests.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle funds rehab for actress Daniella Westbrook
The insider, who tweets under the handle @tvtenterhooks, claims in their bio that they “find people for TV shows” and said they worked on The Jeremy Kyle Show for six months.
“Can assure you, story is the tip of the iceberg,” they wrote. “Exploiting people with serious mental health/addiction problems. Promise ‘aftercare’ after f**king people’s lives up.”
They added: “Can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this s**t to be investigated.”
The controversy comes in the wake of increased discussion around aftercare for people who appear on television triggered by the death of Love Island contestant Mike Thalassitis, who was found dead in March at the age of 26.
Read more: Love Island producers defend aftercare process
Sophie Gradon, 32, who appeared on the hit programme in 2016, was found hanged in June by her boyfriend, who later took his own life in similar circumstances.
Love Island has since promised to extend its support process and proactively offer help to islanders participating in the new series, which recently began filming.
