‘My conscience is clear’ says Jeremy Kyle as he breaks silence on tragic suicide of show guest Steve Dymond
“WHAT happened was a tragedy, but to blame other people is wrong.”
These are the words of Jeremy Kyle, who has spoken for the first time since an inquest into the suicide of his show guest Steve Dymond.
The presenter has hit back at his detractors, and those who criticised the hugely popular ITV daytime show, insisting the programme’s ratings spoke for themselves.
Jeremy, 59, has also detailed the mental and physical toll the past five years have had on him since Steve, 63, took his own life on May 9, 2019.
The humbled broadcaster was prescribed antidepressant Citalopram in the wake of the tragedy.
Jeremy says: “Let’s not forget first and foremost somebody took their life because they were in a position where they saw no way out.
“I haven’t spoken for five years out of respect because there was a legal process that dragged on and on for many reasons.
“It should never have been about me. It’s about Steve and his family. That was my first thought when I found out.
“And then my next thought was about the hundred people that worked for the show who lost their jobs overnight — some of them even had their mortgages cancelled.
“I remember at the time just being in this bubble of not even understanding what had happened, but I get it. I get the criticism.
“I think everybody would probably question [themselves] when something like that happens.
‘Everybody piled in’
“You look at yourself in the mirror, of course you do. You would be inhuman not to, wouldn’t you?
“I know that I did that show to the best of my ability. I’m sure I didn’t get it right the whole time.
“But my conscience is clear. The coroner was right in that there was nothing I did or could have done to stop this tragedy. I was presenting a show. Steve had been cleared to appear by both ITV’s aftercare team and his own GP.”
Today, speaking from a central London studio, Jeremy arrives looking exhausted and pretty fragile.
He has, he says, lost a stone over the past seven days during the widely covered inquest at Winchester’s Coroner’s Court.
At one point, he wells up and wipes away a tear. We have to pause for a moment.
The coroner stated in his conclusion that he had found neither Jeremy nor the broadcaster caused Steve’s death.
The TV host adds: “Recently we were shown messages which Steve sent to (his former fiancée) Jane and his family after appearing on the show and not a single one criticises or complains about me. None of this should have been about me.”
In a sadly ironic twist of fate, Tuesday, the day of the ruling, was also World Suicide Prevention Day — something that isn’t lost on the presenter.
He says: “We should be looking at the central reason of why any man or woman gets to a point where they’re that desperate. And that’s why, I guess, it’s taken as long as it has.
“I felt it wrong that everybody piled in — it was a dreadful time for everyone. But I became the focus of journalists, members of the public and social media — their judgment seemingly on me and the show.
“There was much more to the story and I think that needed to come out eventually.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have had some great people around me who have dragged me out of this and there are, of course, many other people who have suffered as well,
“But you know what? NO bitterness, NO anger, NO resentment, NO revenge, NO victim mentality. We all just need to get on as best we can.”
Construction worker Steve appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show in a bid to win back his ex-fiancée Jane Callaghan after she suspected him of cheating on her.
He denied being unfaithful, but failed a lie detector test. The footage was never broadcast.
Steve, who had a history of mental health issues and previously tried to take his own life on four occasions, overdosed seven days later.
After being rejected from the programme a month earlier over concerns for his wellbeing, he got a letter of good health from his GP and was constantly asking producers to let him appear — calling them up to 50 times.
Aftercare records showed he later showed no dissatisfaction with Jeremy or the ITV show about his treatment.
Jane also told them how much she enjoyed the show and how great Jeremy was.
But his heartbreaking death prompted the immediate cancellation of the show — the network’s most popular daytime programme — after 14 years.
It also lead to a parliamentary inquiry into the broadcaster’s treatment of reality show contestants.
Recalling the moment in May 2019, at ITV’s Manchester studios, when he was first told about Steve’s suicide, Jeremy says: “I went to the office on the morning, I think, of the 9th, and I was sat in my dressing room and one of the show executives came in and told me the tragic news and you just think ‘Oh my God’.
“It was such a shock. Filming was cancelled, I went home and I never went back to the Manchester studios. I spent that weekend not knowing what to think and then, rightly so, everything then about the show is pointless because all you think about is this guy being in that dreadful position.
‘The world changed’
“I looked at the Steve Dymond clips in my lawyer’s office for the first time and I was worried watching it because it had already been widely reported I had allegedly bullied him, shouted at him and egged on the audience to boo him. That I pounced on him, called him a traitor, heckled him and got in his face.
“It was reported I called him a failure, that I threw the lie detector in his face and that he was so distressed he collapsed on stage, and that we wouldn’t let him leave the studio. But I watched it and I can categorically say none of these things happened.
“But when I watched it, I thought, I didn’t shout and scream. I wasn’t cowering over him. I took him backstage and calmed him and the situation down.
“I saw me say ‘hello mate, hello pal’, make a joke with him, give him the results and be very straight with him.
“I took him backstage, tried to de-escalate it, and I remember saying to him, ‘She [Jane] loves you. You don’t need to lie — tell her the truth, we’ll help put you back together.’”
Much has been written over the intervening years about the nature of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
It was dubbed “poverty porn” by commentators and “classist television” — mocking struggling working-class people.
How does he feel about the label, and is he proud of his work on that show — one that drew well over a million viewers a day?
He replies: “We put thousands of people into detox and rehab and thousands of people found out who their real parents were.
“We resolved a lot of conflict and solved lots of problems. And I am proud of that, and all those who worked on that show, and some of what we did.
“I get it, though — this is TV from a bygone era, and it would, quite rightly, not ever be put on again today.
“I mean, there were other shows out there that were doing similar things. You think of Benefits Street, you think of Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away! I always had this belief that, yes, it was a vehicle of its time. And people loved it or they hated it.
“It was like Marmite. And a lot of people watched it because it was relatable, it made them feel better about their own lives — maybe voyeuristic. It was cult viewing.
“But the world changed. And absolutely, that show could not be brought back now in any way, shape or form.
“Somebody said to me once, what will your legacy be? And I’ll tell you: A father who managed to get through bringing up six amazing children and still manages to walk in a straight line.
“And that, honestly, is enough for me.”
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123