Show host Jeremy Kyle
The Jeremy Kyle Show has been a staple of morning television for 14 years.
Famous for its DNA tests, lie detectors and on-screen fighting, the programme is the most popular in ITV’s daytime schedule, with an average of one million viewers.
But this week it was cancelled indefinitely, amid calls for a permanent ban.
So what happened?
ITV is conducting an internal review after a guest who failed a lie detector on the show died just a week after filming. The Sun reports that Steve Dymond, 63, is believed to have taken his own life, after splitting from his fiancee when the test appeared to indicate he had been unfaithful.
In the wake of his death, The Jeremy Kyle Show is no longer airing on ITV2, and all previous episodes have been taken down from catch-up service ITV Hub.
Will it be back?
Tory MP Charles Walker, who has spoken before about his own mental health issues, described Dymond’s death as a “watershed moment” and urged ITV to cancel the show permanently. This call has been echoed by other politicians, journalists and psychologists.
Fellow Conservative MP Simon Hart said it was “car-crash TV which revels in people’s terrible misfortune and sometimes their vulnerabilities”, The Guardian reports.
Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings told the newspaper: “It’s an archaic kind of show, it probably was when it was first commissioned, but now it seems very out of step with our attitude with mental health issues.”
Ofcom said it would be speaking to ITV about what had happened, and Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is holding a private meeting later this week about reviewing the duty of care for reality TV participants.
What has ITV said?
The broadcaster said its staff and the show’s production team were “shocked and saddened” by Dymond’s death. It added that “significant and detailed duty of care processes” were in place to support contributors before, during and after their appearance.
“There have been numerous positive outcomes from this, including parties who have resolved complex and long-standing personal problems,” ITV added.
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