Jeremy Kyle told tearful guest who died after show to ‘grow a pair’ in clip, inquest reveals - latest

Presenter Jeremy Kyle told guest Steve Dymond to “grow a pair” and said he wouldn’t trust him with a chocolate button, shortly after he failed a lie detector test.

An inquest into his death heard the TV host say he could “absolutely” see a journey in Mr Dymond’s appearance on his ITV show, including where he and his partner “face the truth”.

After he failed the test, having been accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, he told an ITV researcher on the Jeremy Kyle Show “I wish I was dead” and had said: “Life is nothing without Jane.”

The 63-year-old is believed to have killed himself seven days after filming the show in May 2019 from an overdose and a heart problem.

Before his appearance, he had been “insisting” his GP wrote him a letter to say he was no longer depressed or taking his mental health medication so he could go on a television show.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.

Key Points

• Presenter tells Dymond to ‘grow a pair'

• Kyle says his show showed a ‘journey’ and was the ‘right approach’

• Steve Dymond had told researcher ‘I wish I was dead’ after lie detector test result

• TV guest had repeatedly asked for letter to take on to the Jeremy Kyle show

• Jeremy Kyle played no role in selecting guests, inquest hears

Jeremy Kyle finishes his evidence

15:17 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle has now finished giving his evidence and has stepped down from the witness box.

Kyle felt he had a ‘double security blanket’ with GP and aftercare team

15:15 , Holly Evans

Mr Kyle said that he had been informed that Mr Dymond had submitted a letter from his GP to support his second application to appear on the show.

He said: “I was simply told he had been to his GP and his GP had written him a letter which enabled him to go on the show.”

He explained that he felt he had a “double security blanket” of the checks carried out by his production team and the GP letter to reassure him that Mr Dymond had been an appropriate guest for the show.

Mr Kyle said he had not been given any guidance by the production or after care teams that he should “modify” his presenting style for Mr Dymond.

Presenter says he has ‘no idea’ where trust comment came from

15:10 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle is asked by Maya Sikand KC, on behalf of Dymond’s family, why he told him he wouldn’t “trust him with a chocolate button”.

The presenter says: “I’ve no idea where that came from.

“I’ve thought about it for several months, I do not know where that came from.”

Jeremy Kyle says there is not one text that complains about his behaviour

15:03 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle said there was not one message from former show guest Steve Dymond in an “oil tanker of text messages and WhatsApps” that complained about the presenter’s behaviour.

Maya Sikand KC, representing Mr Dymond’s family, read Mr Dymond’s last known message to his partner Jane Callaghan before his death, which said: “I hope the Jeremy Kyle show is so happy now about what they have done to me.”

The message also said: “I did lie about my past, but I never cheated… never, never, never did I cheat on you.”

Asked what his response was to Mr Dymond’s assertion that the Jeremy Kyle Show was “responsible” for his death, Mr Kyle said: “I say that I know there was an oil tanker of text messages and Whatsapp messages, I’ve heard people say my approach to Steve Dymond was met with concern, there’s not one text message that complains about my behaviour.

“I am the presenter, I didn’t create the show, I was paid to do a job,” he said.

“I had full confidence in the production team and the aftercare team.”

Clips show Steve Dymond being shown lie detector test

14:58 , Alex Ross

Dymond’s family lawyer as Kyle if his behaviour was ‘belittling’ towards guest

14:56 , Holly Evans

Maya Sikand KC, representing Mr Dymond’s family, asked Mr Kyle if he had been “belittling” over his handling of Mr Dymond during the recording.

She quoted Mr Kyle asking Mr Dymond: “Did it bother you that she didn’t have an orgasm or are you a typical male and do not give a toss.”

She said Mr Dymond responds: “I can’t remember when” with Mr Kyle continuing: “You are lying again aren’t you? You can’t remember when she did.”

She said Mr Dymond then says: “I cross my heart,” then Mr Kyle says: “Just give me the results.”

Ms Sikand asked Mr Kyle: “This is pretty belittling isn’t it?

He replied: “I wouldn’t agree with you, I would say it’s the part, from the beginning I had a joke with him, he did get upset but he wasn’t upset from the beginning, that’s the journey and that’s the way the Jeremy Kyle show was.”

Jeremy Kyle denies encouraging audience to boo Dymond

14:43 , Holly Evans

Mr Kyle denied encouraging the audience to take against Mr Dymond and said: “Not at all, I asked them to give them a round of applause.”

He said: “The production, the producing, the after care, the lie detector test were not my responsibility, I was the presenter.”

“We’d done what we’d always done for 15 years and provided an aftercare package, and then yes I moved on to the next guest,” he added.

Mr Kyle said he had created a persona for the show but had not been trained in handling emotional guests.

He said: “The show developed, it was a character, a part, by understanding that from day one as I keep saying, it’s conflict resolution so it involved many aspects of many stories and many different approaches.”

Kyle defends his presenting approach to show

14:36 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle has defended his approach to the way he presented his shows, saying “yes, it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest”.

Speaking at the inquest, Mr Kyle said: “I think that people who came on the show – I think the show had been on air for 15 years – and I believe the approach for conflict resolution was always the same.

“Yes, it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest.”

Referring to Mr Dymond’s case, Mr Kyle added: “I de-escalated, I calmed it down and I put them backstage.

“That’s what I always believed the show was about – conflict resolution.”

Asked whether he believed the way he interacted with Mr Dymond constituted “de-escalation”, Mr Kyle responded: “I think it was frustration that he wouldn’t stop lying.”

Presenter tells Dymond to ‘grow a pair'

14:33 , Holly Evans

In confrontational scenes filmed backstage, with both Steve Dymond and Jane Callaghan in tears, Jeremy Kyle says: “Why would you fail? Did you kiss someone but not have sex with them? I’m trying my best here. I don’t actually take any pleasure in this at all.”

Steve Dymond replies: “I have not been unfaithful to her.”

Jeremy Kyle says he stands 100% by the lie detector result while Mr Dymond can be heard repeating: “I swear to God, I am being so straight, I have never been more straight.”

He adds to Steve Dymond: “Grow a pair of balls and tell her the god damn truth.”

Jeremy Kyle told guest ‘I wouldn’t trust you with a chocolate button’

14:30 , Holly Evans

Footage from the moment of the lie detector test reveal shows Steve Dymond being booed by the crowd, while his former partner runs from the stage in tears.

Jeremy Kyle can be heard saying: “The truth of the matter is you mate, you did make up a cacophony of lies, you can sit there looking upset, people could look at this and think it’s dodgy.”

Then after revealing the result of the lie detector test, Mr Kyle says: “The test says you are lying, pal, you failed every single question.”

Looking shocked, Mr Dymond repeats: “I wasn’t, I have never been unfaithful.”

Mr Kyle says: “The studio thought you were telling the truth, I wouldn’t trust you with a chocolate button, mate.”

Guest admits he lied to his fiancee about being in the navy on show

14:25 , Holly Evans

In clips from the recording, Jeremy Kyle can be seen telling the audience: “He’s lied about his age, about being in the Navy, making up grandkids he doesn’t have,” he says.

Mr Dymond admits before the lie detector results are revealed that “I just lie to her for no reason”.

But he adds: “Since we split up I haven’t lied to her.”

Mr Dymond also explains that he lied to Miss Callaghan when they met by saying he was in the navy when he was actually in the RFA.

He adds: “I didn’t need to lie, I didn’t need to lie at all.”

Kyle says his show showed a ‘journey’ and was the ‘right approach’

14:18 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle said he believed that the way his shows were structured were “the right approach” and that the stories reflected a “journey”

He said: “It is conflict, it is resolution”, adding that you could see this in the case of Steve Dymond.

In clips from the show played to Winchester Coroner’s Court, Mr Dymond’s partner Jane Callaghan said to the presenter: “It was his (idea to come on the show).

“I did say to him that I wanted him to have (a lie detector test) done but it was him that phoned up the show.”

In a later clip, Mr Kyle asked: “Do you think he’s going to pass (the test), yes or no?” to which Miss Callaghan replied: “I’m 50/50.”

Presenter says he had ‘no involvement’ in selecting guests

14:08 , Holly Evans

Taking to the witness stand, presenter Jeremy Kyle has explained the process in which he was informed about the various guests that would appear on his programme.

“The night before I’d be sent a briefing pack and they’d provide me with a synopsis which were the cards on stage, and we’d go through in a meeting in my dressing room all the relevant points,” he said.

He added: “I was employed absolutely as the presenter and that was the benchmark of the job I did.

“I repeat I had no involvement in the process, selection or screening or anything like that.”

Jeremy Kyle takes to the witness box

13:51 , Holly Evans

TV host Jeremy Kyle has entered the witness box where he is due to give evidence regarding the death of Steve Dymond, who appeared on his show in May 2019.

Who is Jeremy Kyle?

13:36 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle made a name for himself as the host of his eponymous talk show, presiding over arguing members of the public airing their issues on TV until it all came to an end.

The confrontational programme, which was pulled off the air for good following the death of a guest in May 2019, had been a popular addition to ITV’s daytime schedule since it started in 2005, turning Kyle into a household name.

Prior to his broadcasting career, Kyle worked in Marks & Spencer and had jobs as an insurance salesman and a recruitment consultant before taking on a number of radio presenting jobs in the 1990s.

After stints at several local stations, including Kent’s Invicta FM, he joined BRMB in Birmingham, where he fronted the shows Late And Live and Jezza’s Jukebox.

By 2000, Kyle had carved out a respectable radio career and moved to Virgin Radio and then London’s Capital FM, where he hosted his Confessions show, having taken the format with him from Virgin.

In July 2005, Kyle was drafted in to host his own talk show on ITV following the departure of Trisha Goddard, who had her own morning programme on the channel.

Reminiscent of The Jerry Springer Show in the US, it was an early hit for tackling issues around traditional family values, and was nominated for a National Television Award (NTA) in 2007 in the most popular factual programme category.

Court adjourned for lunch

12:49 , Holly Evans

The court has adjourned for lunch and will resume at 1.45pm.

Presenter Jeremy Kyle is due to enter the witness box this afternoon.

Inquest shown video clips of Mr Dymond being advised on lie detector test

12:35 , Holly Evans

Earlier this morning, the court was shown video clips of Mr Dymond being advised about the processes of the lie detector test.

In the video, Mr Dymond asks the polygraph examiner, who was contracted by ITV to carry out the procedure, whether the test is “99.9% accurate”, to which the examiner replies “They are 95% accurate” with a “narrow risk of error”.

The examiner also advises Mr Dymond that “if you fail one question, you fail the lot”.

The clips also show Mr Dymond watching a video informing him about the test which advises the participant to be “truthful, open and honest”.

ITV’s head of content compliance, Chris Wissun, said: “This was a very well-established editorial feature of the programme.

“The result of the test would be given by the polygraph examiner to the producer. The producer wouldn’t reveal the results to the presenter, the results would be given to him during the programme.

“He would open the envelope and reveal the results and tell the guests what the results were. There was an element of drama in that moment.”

Steve Dymond had told researcher ‘I wish I was dead’ after lie detector test result

12:10 , Holly Evans

The inquest heard that after taking the lie detector test, a researcher on the Jeremy Kyle Show texted a producer to say: “Just so you know he’s still crying, I think it’s just being in his room going around in circles. He just said ‘I wish I was dead’ to which I said he’s going to be fine, just to give you the heads up.”

When questioned by the lawyer representing Mr Dymond’s family as to why he was not believed to be a risk to himself, Chris Wissun said: “Between the time the studio recording ended at 12.45pm and when he left the studio at 2.30pm, he was continuously talking to members of the production team and to the aftercare nurse in that period.

“I believe the researcher said guests would often make comments like that in the heat of the moment soon after the recording but they would calm themselves and that isn’t how they felt when they left the studio.”

The court was told the aftercare team called Mr Dymond the day after the show and exchanged text messages, with him saying: “I give you my word I will stay positive.”

Guests with depression were not allowed to take lie detector test, inquest hears

11:47 , Holly Evans

Guests suffering with depression were prohibited from undertaking a lie detector test, an inquest into the death of Steve Dymond has heard.

Under questioning from Maya Sikand KC, representing his family, ITV’s director of content compliance at the time, said: “My recollection is that the rationale we understood from the team was that if you were currently depressed and took a lie detector test and you failed and that had a negative effect on your relationship, then that might worsen your depression.

“For that reason the programme didn’t want people with depression to take that particular test.”

Prior to appearing on the show, guests were also warned that Jeremy Kyle’s presenting style could be “critical” if he believed them to be in the wrong, and asked if they had previously watched the show.

More pictures of TV host arriving at court

11:28 , Holly Evans

Jeremy Kyle played no role in selecting guests, inquest hears

11:11 , Holly Evans

Chris Wissun, director of content compliance at ITV at the time, confirmed that Jeremy Kyle played no role in the selection of guests or had any role in the aftercare that was provided by the show.

Under questioning from Mr Kyle’s lawyer, Mr Wissun confirmed that the presenter would arrive for filming and would be provided with a briefing and a synopsis on each guest appearing on the show. These cards would highlight any points to avoid or to be approached gently.

Speaking of the card detailing Mr Dymond’s background, Neil Sheldon KC, representing Mr Kyle, said: “There’s nothing on the card to advise Mr Kyle that there are things he should be aware of or should change from his presenting style.”

The inquest heard that following the filming of the show and the results of the lie detector test, a casting researcher escorted Mr Dymond back to his room, where he was “crying quite a lot” and was “devastated”. The aftercare team provided by ITV spoke to him on three occasions in the immediate aftermath of the show.

TV guest had repeatedly asked for letter to take on to the Jeremy Kyle show

10:52 , Holly Evans

During Wednesday’s hearing, the inquest heard that Mr Dymond was seen in March 2019 by his GP Dr Amjad Rehman, at the Rowner Health Centre in Gosport, who referred him “urgently” to the acute mental health care team as he had been having “suicidal thoughts” after splitting from Ms Callaghan.

Dr Rehman said Mr Dymond’s case was referred back to the community health team under his supervision, because he was deemed to be of “low risk of suicide” and had been experiencing a “reactive episode” to his relationship breakdown.

The inquest heard that Mr Dymond went into the surgery on April 9 and spoke to a staff member who recorded in notes that he was “desperate for a letter to take to the show”.

After telling him there was no GP available to speak to, the member of staff recorded: “He grabbed my hand and begged me to go and ask.”

He returned on a further two occasions, and on 29 April had “aggressively” asked for the letter “as a matter of life or death”, while his mood seemed to have improved.

The letter read to the inquest said: “I write to confirm that Mr Dymond is registered with this practice.

“Mr Dymond has a history of low mood and depression but his mood has improved since he got back together with his partner.

“I saw him for review at the surgery today and his mood has improved and he is not taking any anti-depressants at this time. I hope you will find this information helpful.”

Jeremy Kyle arrives at Winchester Coroners Court

10:28 , Holly Evans

Presenter Jeremy Kyle has been seen arriving at Winchester Coroners Court to give evidence into the death of Stephen Dymond, who died seven days after appearing on his ITV show.

ICYMI: Jeremy Kyle guest desperate to clear name called show ‘40 or 50 times’ to appear before death

09:56 , Holly Evans

A man believed to have killed himself after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show called the programme “40 or 50 times” in a desperate attempt to go on, the inquest into his death has heard.

Steve Dymond, 63, died of an overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth seven days after filming for the ITV programme in May 2019.

Chris Wissun, who was an in-house lawyer and director of content compliance at ITV when Mr Dymond died, gave evidence at Winchester Coroners’ Court during the second day of the hearing on Wednesday.

While questioning Mr Wissun, counsel to the inquest Rachel Spearing said of Mr Dymond: “This was a man that had rung 40 or 50 times... was absolutely desperate to be on the show.”

Read the full article from my colleague Tara Cobham here:

Welcome to our live coverage

09:42 , Holly Evans

Welcome to our live coverage as presenter Jeremy Kyle is scheduled to appear at Winchester Coroners’ Court to give evidence at the inquest of Stephen Dymond.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates here.