Steve Dymond inquest: Clips of unaired Jeremy Kyle show played in court
Jeremy Kyle has defended both his chat show and his presenting style during the inquest into the death of a man after appearing on the programme.
It came as the court was also shown clips from the unaired show for the first time.
Steve Dymond, 63, was found dead at his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in May 2019, seven days after taking part in the show.
Steve Dymond died after filming an episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show. Pic: Family handout/PA
A coroner found he had died of a combination of a morphine overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy in his heart.
Mr Dymond had taken a lie detector test for the ITV programme after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan. Following his death, the episode was never aired, and the series was later cancelled.
Kyle arrived on day three of the inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court accompanied by his solicitor, agent and several other people, wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt and light blue tie. He then sat attentively until he was called to give evidence.
The 59-year-old presenter stood by the structure of the show, saying the stories featured were “a journey” containing both “conflict” and “resolution,” and defended his style of presenting saying “it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest”.
The court was shown clips from the unaired episode, with one showing Kyle saying to Mr Dymond: “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.”
After revealing the result of the lie detector test, Kyle said: “The test says you are lying, pal, you failed every single question.”
The clip showed Ms Callaghan bursting into tears with boos being heard from the audience and Mr Dymond looking shocked as he says: “I wasn’t, I have never been unfaithful.”
Kyle replied: “The studio thought you were telling the truth, I wouldn’t trust you with a chocolate button mate.”
Kyle: ‘Grow a pair of balls and tell the truth’
Another clip featured Kyle telling Mr Dymond: “Be a man, grow a pair of balls and tell her the goddam truth.”
While another featured the presenter asking “Has anyone got a shovel?” as Mr Dymond attempted to explain why he had been messaging another woman.
Kyle denied encouraging the audience to take against Mr Dymond, telling the inquest: “Not at all – I asked them to give them a round of applause.” He said clips showed he had “de-escalated” and “calmed” the situation rather than inflaming it.
He went on to tell the court he believed the show took “the right approach”, and he “always believed the stories were a journey.”
He said you could “absolutely” see a journey in Mr Dymond’s case, including where he and his partner “face the truth”. He said: “It is conflict, it is resolution.”
He also made clear he was “not involved in the selection of guests” on his TV show, and was “employed absolutely as the presenter,” and nothing more.
Jeremy Kyle. Pic: Channel 4/ITV/Shutterstock
He later added: “The production, the producing, the after-care, the lie detector test were not my responsibility, I was the presenter,” going on to explain that while he had created a persona for the show, he had not been trained how to handle emotional guests.
When asked by Rachel Spearing, counsel to the inquest, whether he believed Mr Dymond was humiliated on the show, Kyle answered: “I do not”.
Maya Sikand KC, the lawyer representing Steve Dymond’s family, put it to Kyle that some of the things he said to Mr Dymond during the show were “belittling,” to which he answered “I wouldn’t agree”. He said that while Mr Dymond did get upset during filming, “he wasn’t upset from the beginning, that’s the journey and that’s the way the Jeremy Kyle show was.”
The Jeremy Kyle Show first aired in 2005 and ran for 17 series before it was cancelled on 10 May 2019, the day after Mr Dymond’s death.
It was ITV’s most popular daytime programme.
ITV stood by Kyle at the time, with the broadcaster’s director of television Kevin Lygo confirming it was piloting a new show with him later that year, although not in the same 9.30am timeslot.
The process of the lie detector test
Ahead of Kyle’s evidence on Thursday morning, the inquest was told that after filming had finished, Mr Dymond had told a researcher: “I wish I was dead.”
Mr Dymond had rung ITV 40 to 50 times in “desperate” attempts to become a guest on the show, the inquest was previously told.
Video clips from the unaired show were played to the court, showing Mr Dymond being advised about the processes of the lie detector test.
In the video, Mr Dymond asked the polygraph examiner, who was contracted by ITV to carry out the procedure, whether the test is “99.9% accurate”, to which the examiner replied: “They are 95% accurate” with a “narrow risk of error”.
The examiner also advised 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”.
Jeremy Kyle. Pic: Rex
Lie detector results added ‘element of drama’
Chris Wissun, director of content compliance at ITV at the time Mr Dymond appeared on the ITV show, returned to the witness box, explaining that the lie detector test was “a very well-established editorial feature of the programme”.
He said Kyle would not have been informed of the lie detector result ahead of time but would discover the outcome in real time during the filming of the show.
Mr Wissun said: “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.”
He also said he was not aware that Kyle had been asked to “modify his approach or presenting style” when dealing with Mr Dymond.
Mr Wissun previously told the court he had been informed that Kyle was “very receptive” to advice from the aftercare team about whether he needed to adapt or soften his presenting style for particular guests.
The hearing heard that the show’s aftercare team had offered Mr Dymond eight to 10 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy for self-esteem and confidence building after the show to help him address his “problem with lying”. Counselling did not go ahead due to his death.
Ms Callaghan and Mr Dymond’s son, Carl Woolley, gave evidence on the first day of the inquest.
Mr Dymond 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 on Wednesday.
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”.
Mr Dymond’s death added to growing scrutiny of the duty of care that reality TV shows have to participants, coming after the death of two former Love Island contestants, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis, in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
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
Gary Glitter will stay in prison after the Parole Board refused the disgraced singer’s bid to be released.
Glitter, 81, was recalled to jail less than six weeks after he was released halfway through his 16-year sentence in 2023 for breaching his licence conditions by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.
He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in 2015 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980.
The Parole Board last year said it was “not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public” after a hearing held behind closed doors.
Glitter was jailed in 2015 Pic: PA
A spokesman on Tuesday said his release was refused again following a “paper review”.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community,” a statement said.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will be eligible for a further review at a date set by the Ministry of Justice. His sentence expires in February 2031.
He was made bankrupt earlier this year after failing to pay more than £500,000 in damages to a woman who sued him for abusing her when she was 12 years old.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, who represented the woman, told Sky News the Parole Board has made “the right decision”.
He added: “My client is relieved at this ruling but apprehensive about having to go through the merry-go-round of Gadd coming up for parole again, and the fear of him being let out on licence.
“This is unfair on victims and it would be better if they were assured that he would serve the rest of his sentence.”
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Glitter was first jailed for four months in 1999 after he admitted possessing around 4,000 indecent images of children.
He was expelled from Cambodia in 2002, and in March 2006 was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam, where he spent two-and-a-half years in prison.
Glitter was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023 after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.
But he was back behind bars weeks later after reportedly trying to access the dark web and images of children.
Kim Woodburn – a former cleaner who found fame presenting the hit TV show How Clean Is Your House? – has died.
Woodburn, who was 83, later became a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing as runner-up.
Woodburn came third in Celebrity Big Brother 2017. Pic: PA
Her manager said in a statement: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness.
“Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person.
“Her husband, Peter, is heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate.
“We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career.
“We kindly ask that Kim’s husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve.
“We will not be releasing any further details.”
Woodburn with Aggie MacKenzie (L). Pic: PA
On Tuesday, her husband shared a video montage of photos of Woodburn over the years, starting when she was just four years old, with the message: “My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx”
Known for her trademark tight, plaited bun, Kim was largely blind in her right eye, and had poor sight in her left eye, and earlier this year had told her followers she was undergoing emergency eye surgery.
Read more from Sky News:
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Woodburn, who had been selling video greetings to fans, shared her last Instagram post in February, when she posted a message saying “Kim is unable to record any further videos for the foreseeable future due to a health problem”.
She wrote: “No more videos for now, my loves, I need to get better!”
Woodburn, born Patricia Mary in Hampshire, left a turbulent home life aged 16, moving to Liverpool to become a live-in cleaner.
She revealed in her 2006 autobiography that, at the age of 23, she prematurely gave birth to a stillborn son and buried him in a park.
The revelation in her book led to a police inquiry, but no action was taken by officers.
In the same year as the stillbirth, she changed her name to Kim – after American actress Kim Novak.
Years later, she was scouted by a TV company looking for a cleaner with an engaging personality to front How Clean is Your House?
Paired with Scottish cleaner Aggie MacKenzie, the two professional cleaners fronted the show – a ratings hit and a pioneer for the home cleaning genre – from 2003 to 2009.
Woodburn went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of here! and E4’s Celebrity Cooking School, as well as regularly contributing to ITV’s This Morning and Loose Women.
She also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, Celebrity Come Dine With Me and A Place In The Sun.
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