Another clip featured the 59-year-old presenter asking: “Has anyone got a shovel?” as Dymond attempted to explain why he had been messaging another woman.
Kyle gave evidence during the inquest and denied humiliating his guest, saying he had tried to “de-escalate” the situation, and added that the selection of guests and their aftercare “were not my responsibility, I was the presenter”.
UK tabloid program The Jeremy Kyle Show was taken off-air and suspended indefinitely following Steve Dymond’s death.Credit: ninevms
On Tuesday Coroner Jason Pegg told the court there was “insufficient evidence” that Kyle’s treatment of Dymond was a contributing factor to his death.
“Having considered the evidence carefully there is an absence of reliable evidence that demonstrates that Steven Dymond’s appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show probably caused or contributed to his death. To do so would be speculative,” he said.
“Dymond had a history of a diagnosed personality disorder and mental illness which presented on a number of occasions before any appearance of The Jeremy Kyle Show and resulted in Steve Dymond self-harming or displaying thoughts of suicide.”
The inquest heard that Dymond had taken overdoses three times previously. He had also been diagnosed with both a depressive and a personality disorder. Dymond had even rung ITV between 40 to 50 times in “desperate” attempts to become a guest on the show, the court was told, and “insisted” his GP write him a letter saying he was no longer depressed in the weeks before filming.
Pegg did not completely dismiss the role played by the show, though, saying it was “one of a number of factors”. He added: “Whilst possible that the manner of his experience added to his distress, it is not probable”.
Noting ITV’s aftercare support, offered after filming, the coroner said: “Aftercare records indicate [Dymond] was ‘emotionally contained’ and expressed no dissatisfaction towards his treatment during the recording with a plan for follow up CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] support.”
The inquest had also heard he had left notes to his family indicating his intention to take his own life, with the coroner noting there was “nothing in those notes where Mr Dymond is critical of his treatment by the show”.
Through a legal representative, Kyle – now a host for the Rupert Murdoch owned internet-only service Talk – said he had been “exonerated” by the coroner’s ruling, allowing his name to be “cleared,” adding the case “had taken a huge toll on him and his family”.
Loading
“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 5½ years,” the representative said.
At the time, Dymond’s death shone a harsh spotlight on the show’s style and raised questions about ITV’s duty-of-care procedures, caused intense debate here about whether confrontational talk shows had any place on British TV.
It spawned an independent review of the responsibility that TV companies had to protect participants in reality shows, coming after the death of two former Love Island contestants, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis, in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
In a statement, read outside the inquest by one of Dymond’s family solicitors, his son Carl Woolley said anyone watching the clips of the show would see that he was in tears, and spoken to “in the most brutal way” by Kyle.
“The only good thing that came from my father’s death is that The Jeremy Kyle Show is cancelled.”
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can call Lifeline 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au or beyondblue 1300 224 636, beyondblue.org.au.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
#Steve #Dymond #death #link #show #coroner
