Jeremy Kyle Show guest Steve Dymond had spoken to medics about suicidal thoughts, inquest hears

Published

2 weeks ago

September 4, 2024

admin

A Jeremy Kyle Show guest who died after filming an episode of the programme had spoken to medics about having suicidal thoughts in the weeks beforehand, an inquest has been told.

Steve Dymond, 63, was found dead at his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in May 2019 – seven days after failing a lie detector test during filming for the ITV programme.

He had been accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee. He hoped to show her this was not true and believed a test on the Jeremy Kyle programme would prove this.

On the second day of a full inquest into his death, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard Mr Dymond died of a combination of a morphine overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy in his heart.

He had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder in 1995 and taken overdoses on four previous occasions – in January 1995, twice in December 2002, and April 2005 – the hearing was told.

The court heard he also made another apparent suicide attempt in 2002.

He was sectioned in September 2005, and a mental health assessment then found he was at “risk of suicide”.

The interactions with medics before show filming

Dr Amjad Rehman, a GP at the Rowner Health Centre in Gosport, Hampshire, saw Mr Dymond on 14 March 2019, the inquest heard.

Mr Dymond told him of suicidal thoughts, he said, so he made a “very urgent” referral to an acute mental health crisis team.

“He was very depressed and said he was depressed for the last four weeks, he was separated from his partner for the last four weeks,” Dr Rehman told the court. “He kept lying to her, was continually lying to his partner.”

The doctor said he examined Mr Dymond, who “was very anxious, picking at his arm, and he was very upset”.

Not all of the patient’s medical records connected to his mental health were available on his system at the time of the consultation, Dr Rehman told the court.

An assessment by the acute mental health team found he had “suicidal thoughts” but denied “any concrete plan”, the inquest heard.

Dymond ‘wanted to get help with being a compulsive liar’

The review said he wanted “to get help with being a compulsive liar and get help with being a narcissist”. It was concluded there was not an “enduring mental health illness present”, the inquest was told.

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.

He saw Mr Dymond again just over two weeks later, on 29 March 2019, and prescribed him the antidepressant Sertraline.

At that time, he was still reporting “off and on self-harm thoughts” but had no “plans to materialise them”, Dr Rehman told the court.

On 10 April 2019, Mr Dymond saw a nurse practitioner and asked for a letter to say he was not depressed or taking anti-depressants. This was so he could go on a television show to take a lie detector test, the court was told.

The anti-depressants had been returned, unused, but the nurse refused to write the letter.

Doctor knew he wanted to go on TV but did not ask details

Mr Dymond attended Dr Rehman’s surgery again on 29 April 2019. On this occasion, he “banged” open his door with his foot and “aggressively” asked for the letter “as a matter of life or death”, the GP said.

He told the court he felt Mr Dymond’s mood and appearance had improved and so agreed to write a letter reflecting this, but declined to say he was not suffering from depression.

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

“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.”

Dr Rehman said he knew Mr Dymond wanted to go on a TV show but did not ask for further details.

Asked if it was “not pertinent” to mention a history of suicidal thoughts in his letter, the GP replied: “I could have mentioned that but the mental health team did not say that he was suicidal.”

Final message to ex heard on first day

Mr Dymond was found dead on 9 May 2019, a week after filming for The Jeremy Kyle Show.

Following his death, the episode was never aired and the series was later cancelled by ITV.

The inquest opened on Tuesday, with Mr Dymond’s ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan and Mr Dymond’s son, Carl Woolley, giving evidence.

Details of Mr Dymond’s final message to Ms Callaghan were also read in court.

He also left a note for Mr Woolley, the inquest heard. There was no mention of Kyle or the show in the note.

The hearing continues.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Entertainment

Kylie Minogue reveals major world tour news – her biggest in more than a decade

Published

8 hours ago

September 19, 2024

admin

Kylie Minogue reveals major world tour news - her biggest in more than a decade

Kylie Minogue has announced her biggest tour in more than a decade – as well as a new album.

The pop star’s Tension tour will open in her home country, Australia, before heading to Asia and reaching the UK in May 2025. More countries and dates in Europe and North and South America are set to be announced over the coming weeks.

It comes after huge success last year with her viral sensation hit Padam Padam and album Tension, as well as a Las Vegas residency and a big show at Hyde Park in London earlier in the summer.

“I am beyond excited to announce the Tension tour 2025,” Minogue said in a statement sent to Sky News. “I can’t wait to share beautiful and wild moments with fans all over the world, celebrating the Tension era and more!

“It’s been an exhilarating ride so far and now, get ready for your close up because I will be calling Lights, Camera, Action… and there will be a whole lot of Padaming!”

The UK dates include shows in Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham and Birmingham, and two at London’s O2 Arena.

Minogue first teased the news as she announced her new album, Tension II, earlier today – revealing the sequel will be released in October, with the lead single, Lights Camera Action coming on 27 September.

“But wait! There’s more…” she added.

The tour announcement followed this afternoon. It will be Minogue’s first since her Golden shows in 2018 and 2019 and her biggest since the Aphrodite: Les Folies tour in 2011, which followed the Aphrodite album and hits including All The Lovers and Get Outta My Way.

The new album includes the dance hit Edge of Saturday Night with The Blessed Madonna, as well as collaborations with Orville Peck, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo, and Sia.

“The Tension era has been so special to me,” the star said. “I can’t possibly let it be over just yet!”

Minogue, who rose to fame on Australian soap Neighbours in the 1980s before becoming a pop mega star, has had hits throughout the decades ever since – from I Should Be So Lucky, Hand On Your Heart and Better The Devil You Know, to Confide In Me, Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.

Padam Padam, released in 2023, marked another reinvention with a move into electronic dance, and became a viral hit.

Earlier this year, she was named a global icon at the Brit Awards, and won the Grammy for best pop dance recording for the single.

Entertainment

Geoff Hinsliff: Star who played Coronation Street villain Don Brennan has died

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

admin

Geoff Hinsliff: Star who played Coronation Street villain Don Brennan has died

Coronation Street star Geoff Hinsliff has died aged 87, ITV has said.

The actor was best known for playing Don Brennan on the soap from 1987 to 1997. He died last weekend.

Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt in the show, paid tribute to Hinsliff on behalf of Coronation Street and ITV, saying: “Geoff was a lovely, quiet man who will be sadly missed by us all.

“His partnership with Lynne Perrie was something rather special and they gave the viewers huge pleasure for many years.”

Born in Leeds, Hinsliff studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and initially appeared on Coronation Street in 1963 and 1977 as different characters.

He joined the cast as taxi driver Don in 1987.

His 10-year stint on the cobbles saw him commit kidnap and attempted murder after several business deals went wrong before his character died when he crashed his car into a viaduct.

Hinsliff made his television debut in an episode of Z-Cars and also appeared in Doctor Who, Brass and the film A Bridge Too Far.

He made his last TV appearance in Heartbeat in 2003.

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs refused bail a second time as he faces sex trafficking charges

Published

12 hours ago

September 19, 2024

admin

Sean 'Diddy' Combs refused bail a second time as he faces sex trafficking charges

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been refused bail a second time as he faces several charges including sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

US district judge Andrew L Carter said the government had proved “by clear and convincing evidence that there is no condition or set of conditions” that will ensure the safety of the community and that the rapper and music mogul will not tamper with witnesses.

The 54-year-old pleaded not guilty after he was first arrested by officers at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.

He was originally denied bail and told he would be detained after pleading not guilty to three felony counts during an initial court appearance on Tuesday.

Lawyers representing Combs asked a judge on Wednesday to let him await his trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, as opposed to in jail in Brooklyn.

But prosecutors argued against the proposal, saying there was too great a risk that Combs could threaten or harm witnesses.

Combs’s lawyers offered a $50m (£37.8m) bail package in exchange for his release to home detention with GPS monitoring and strict limitations on who could visit him.

Arguing to keep him behind bars, prosecutor Emily Johnson told the judge that Combs had a long history of intimidating both accusers and witnesses to his alleged abuse.

Ms Johnson cited text messages from women who said Combs forced them into “Freak Offs” and then threatened to leak explicit videos of them engaging in sexual acts.

She also said that Combs’s own defence team was “minimising and horrifically understating” his propensity for violence.

The defence and prosecution were wrangling over the request before the judge passed his ruling.

“I am feeling confident. We’re going to go get Mr Combs out of jail,” Combs’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo said on his way into court on Wednesday, before the judge decided Combs would spend his time before the trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

A legal indictment released after Combs’s arrest detailed allegations dating to 2008, accusing him of abusing, threatening, and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

He allegedly induced female victims and male sex workers into drug-fuelled sexual performances, dubbed “Freak Offs”, according to the report.

Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop – famous as a producer and manager of the late Notorious BIG, as well as a rapper in his own right for hits including I’ll Be Missing You, Come With Me, and Bad Boy For Life.

However, in November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit accusing him of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fuelled settings.

The suit was settled in one day, but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her to the floor.

He apologised after the video aired, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it.”