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Jeremy Kyle turned down a request to appear before MPs
The Jeremy Kyle Show’s bosses have been criticised for making guests take possibly inaccurate lie detector tests.
Damian Collins MP, chair of the House of Commons culture select committee, said executive producer Tom McLennan’s lack of knowledge was “astonishing”.
The committee launched an inquiry into reality TV last month following ITV’s decision to axe the show in May, after the death of participant Steve Dymond.
Mr Dymond, 63, died around a week after reportedly failing a lie detector test.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Mr Collins labelled the show’s makers “irresponsible” after Mr McLennan admitted the lie detectors used on the show over the past 14 years were “not 100% accurate”, but that he did not know how reliable they were.
Mr McLennan said: “We’ve always made it very very clear to the viewers and the participants before the show that the lie detector is not 100% accurate.”
He added: “Practitioners claim it has a high level of accuracy but it’s not guaranteed.”
Jo Stevens MP, also on the committee, said the show had a duty of care and that if producers didn’t know how accurate the lie detectors were, then the “entire premise of the show is fake”.
Jeremy Kyle last week turned down a request to appear before MPs investigating his show.
The inquiry will invite a range of former participants and programme-makers to give evidence over the coming months.
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