Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
An inquest into the death of Steve Dymond, a man who took his life after he appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, has been told there was 'insufficient evidence' that the show 'was the direct cause of Steve’s death'.
Coroner Jason Pegg ruled that 63-year-old Steve Dymond's death was a result of suicide.
He had died in May 2019, around a week after he appeared on an unaired episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Footage of that episode was shown for the first time at Winchester Coroner's Court, in which Kyle told Dymond to 'grow a pair of balls' and tell his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan 'the god-damned truth'.
During the inquest, Kyle said his approach was a 'presenter persona' and had never been trained to deal with situations such as Dymond's.
Dymond's son Carl Woolley told the inquest previously that his father felt as though he had been 'thrown under the bus' by the show.
"He told me he was made out to be a baddie… and that no one had given him any chance to put his point across, and that Jeremy Kyle was constantly ‘on him’," Woolley said in a statement, adding that his father told him Kyle had 'egged on' the audience to boo him - something Kyle denied.
"I said to him at one point: ‘What did you expect going on a show like that?’ and he said to me that he hadn’t realised he would be made a mockery of."
The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled by ITV following Dymond's death, he had appeared on the show to tell Callaghan he hadn't been cheating on her.
However, the lie detector test the show used, which is not guaranteed to be reliable, had said he failed to answer truthfully.
Kyle had said: "The test says you're a liar, you failed every single test. I wouldn't trust you with a chocolate button mate, I don't think you know what the truth is.
The coroner also spoke in court to say there was 'insufficient evidence' to indicate that appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show was 'the direct cause of Steve’s death'.
He said: "These accounts are not supported with any independent expert evidence to evaluate the impact of his treatment on the show. It would be unsafe to infer these links in the absence of a clear and reliable causal connection.
“Steve Dymond’s participation in the show is one of a number of factors, and whilst possible that the manner experience added to his distress it is not probable.
“The weight which can be attached to these accounts must be balanced with the other evidence available in the aftermath of the show including Steve Dymond’s own reliability, the evidence from witnesses and the rush recordings.
“Aftercare records indicate Steve Dymond was ’emotionally contained’ and expressed no dissatisfaction towards his treatment during the recording with a plan for follow-up CBT support.”
Coroner Pegg said that Dymond was suffering from 'mental distress' as the 63-year-old believed that his relationship had 'irretrievably broken down'.
He said: "The deceased’s decision to take his own life was made in the context of his mental distress that was probably exacerbated by his belief that a significant relationship had now irretrievably broken down following his participation on a television programme where it had been suggested that the deceased had lied to his partner."
"There is nothing in those notes where Mr Dymond is critical of his treatment by the show."
Pegg said that there was also 'insufficient evidence' to conclude whether or not Dymond had lied during his lie detector test.
All of the results had said he was lying, but the coroner said the test 'cannot be considered to be wholly accurate' and said a producer on The Jeremy Kyle Show had said that the accuracy of the test was 'between 60-96 percent'.
A statement from Jeremy Kyle's representatives said that the coroner's words 'clearly and unequivocally' showed that the TV presenter 'did not in any way cause or contribute to the tragic suicide of Steve Dymond'.
They said: "He is now exonerated of that ill-informed accusation and his name has finally been cleared.
"Out of respect for the family of Mr Dymond and the judicial process, Jeremy has always maintained that it would be inappropriate to discuss details whilst the legal inquest was ongoing and he has remained steadfastly silent in the face of lies, false accusations and unfair criticism over the last five-and-a-half years."
"This has taken a huge toll on him and his family and he would like to thank everyone who has truly supported him through these tough times."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Featured Image Credit: ITVTopics: UK News, ITV, Jeremy Kyle
Joe Harker