THE Jeremy Kyle Show has been suspended from filming and broadcasting any episodes on ITV after a guest died days after collapsing to the floor in anguish on the show after failing a love-cheat lie detector test.
The guest’s untimely passing has prompted a full-on investigation. Here’s the lowdown…
Rex Features
What happened to the guest who prompted the Jeremy Kyle show to be taken off air?
The Sun exclusively revealed on May 13 that The Jeremy Kyle Show had been taken off air indefinitely after a guest who failed a love-cheat lie detector test died of a drug overdose just days later.
Steve Dymond, 63, took the test on the ITV show to convince his fiancée Jane Callaghan that he hadn’t been unfaithful.
But they split after he failed the test and now his friends fear Steve took his own life.
His ex-fiancée Jane claimed that Steve was determined to go in front of the cameras despite having underlying health concerns.
She even revealed that Steve got a doctor’s letter confirming he was medically fit so he could take the show’s test and convince her he had not been unfaithful.
Jane, who said Steve had been diagnosed with depression, added: “He wanted to go on. He was really excited and confident. But it was all a front and I knew it. He wasn’t well at all.”
Steve was found dead by his landlady just ten days after appearing on the show.
He is thought to have died of an overdose of morphine prescribed for his painful arthritis.
But those close to him fear he may have committed suicide.
Jane said the pair split up after the show — in which Jeremy Kyle had revealed to the audience that Steve failed the lie test despite his protestations.
Just before Steve died he had texted fiancée Jane to say he couldn’t live life without her.
In desperate messages he wrote “I can’t live without you. My life is not worth living without you.”
Sobbing, she said: “I know we split up a week ago but we were together for two years. He was still my fiancé. I still loved him. As much as he was a pig to me I still loved him.
“We got engaged Christmas Day 2017. He was crying, the love was real. He was the most generous and loving person.
“He was quietly struggling, and we didn’t know at the time.
“He cheated on me, I know he did. I can’t forgive but I just want him to be alive.”
Has Jeremy Kyle been cancelled and when is it back on TV?
ITV announced that the May 13, 2019, episode had been cancelled following the death of a guest who passed away shortly after filming.
The network stressed that the episode would not be aired and has since been replaced with a rerun of Dickinson’s Real Deal instead.
A spokesperson for the channel revealed: “Everyone at ITV and The Jeremy Kyle Show is shocked and saddened at the news of the death of a participant in the show a week after the recording of the episode they featured in and our thoughts are with their family and friends”.
The statement concluded with the words: “ITV will not screen the episode in which they featured.”
As well as the show being suspended from air indefinitely, all previous episodes have also been deleted from the on-demand service, ITV Hub.
What has TV said about suspending The Jeremy Kyle Show?
ITV is fully cooperating with police to commence an investigation while also reviewing footage of the episode to “conduct a review of the show”.
A representative noted: “Given the seriousness of this event, ITV has also decided to suspend both filming and broadcasting of The Jeremy Kyle Show with immediate effect”.
A source familiar with the situation told The Sun that the entire team at The Jeremy Kyle Show is cooperating and fully supportive of ITV’s decision to perform a full investigation by placing the show on hiatus for the time being.
A source shared: “It’s everyone’s worst nightmare, and something that is taken extremely seriously by all involved. Jeremy and the team are extremely proud of the show and the aftercare which guests receive, and in 14 years on air there has never been an incident like this”.
Former EastEnders star Daniella Westbrook had made it known to fans that her appearance on the chat show was expected to air on May 14, 2019 but due to unforeseen circumstances, it’s now unclear when the episode will air.
The Jeremy Kyle Show is one of the longest-running chat shows on ITV, first premiering on the network back in 2005.
What has Jeremy Kyle said about his show being cancelled? And what will he do now?
Although Jeremy hasn’t said anything outright about the axing of his show, his pals have let slip the presenter’s concerns.
On May 14, The Sun exclusively revealed that Jeremy feared ITV bosses were looking for an excuse to axe his show for good.
The presenter reportedly told friends he thinks he may be being made a scapegoat after the death of a guest who died days after failing a cheat lie detector.
His concerns emerged as the axe man who binned Big Brother was tasked to launch an investigation.
But a source said: “Jeremy and those on the show are worried that this could be the nail in the coffin.
“There’s been a groundswell of criticism since the news broke of Steve’s death, and there’s a feeling from people who work on the show that top bosses might decide to use the incident as a reason to change things around.”
Sources say new ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, 57, has never been a fan of the abrasive show — which she believes clashes with the rest of the network’s daytime schedule.
And she has put Julian Bellamy — the managing director of ITV Studios — at the helm of the review of the tragedy.
But Jeremy‘s nearest believe bosses may use the sad events as an excuse to remove the show entirely.
The source added: “Senior figures at ITV think the schedule should be more wholesome and that this jars with it a bit. The CEO has told people she wants ITV to be upbeat and positive.”
Since the future of the show still remains in the balance, there is no indication of what Jeremy will do next as he waits to see what will happen to his show of fourteen years.
