Jeremy Kyle may have ‘caused or contributed’ to death of TV guest

The television presenter Jeremy Kyle “may have caused or contributed to” the death of a guest suspected of killing himself after failing a lie detector test on the show, a pre-inquest review has heard.

Steve Dymond, 63, died at his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, seven days after taking part in The Jeremy Kyle Show in an attempt to prove he had not cheated on his fiancee.

The coroner Jason Pegg said he had made Kyle an “interested person” for the inquest, saying the presenter was someone “who may have caused or contributed to the death of [Steve] Dymond”.

He added: “It might seem ludicrous not to have Mr Kyle to give evidence to give his take on the situation.”

The barrister for Dymond’s family, Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, told the hearing in Winchester that Dymond became “distressed” after he failed the lie detector test.

She said he went on the show to “prove his fidelity”, and had said: “I pushed and pushed but it all went wrong.”

Gallagher said that after the result was announced during filming the audience “booed and jeered” at him and he was “called a failure by the presenter”.

Jeremy Kyle has been named an ‘interested person’ at the inquest Photograph: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock

She said Kyle was “in his face” and even when he was “at the point of collapsing, he was still being heckled”.

Gallagher said Dymond sought to leave through a side door but found it locked, and she added: “He couldn’t escape the heckling. He was on his hands and knees because he thought he was going to pass out from the stress.”

The barrister said Dymond’s state of mind was known by the crew on the show, with a message sent on a WhatsApp group saying: “Just so you know, he’s still crying, he has just said he wishes he was dead. Just giving you the heads up.”

Gallagher added: “While he was still on the programme, within minutes, he was talking about wishing he was dead.”

The barrister said Kyle had made a statement saying he “didn’t behave in a goading manner”, but she said: “We take issue with that.”

Gallagher said: “The inquest must consider how he came to be on the show in the first place considering his pre-show assessment and it was known he had been on antidepressant medication and had stopped it to go on the show.”

She said Kyle was given briefing notes about Dymond’s situation and had made reference during the show to him stopping his medication.

Gallagher said Dymond called his brother as he was taken home by taxi from the show. In a statement read to the hearing, Leslie Dymond said: “He seemed completely broken and frightened and told me he couldn’t go on living.”

Kyle’s barrister, Neil Sheldon QC, said he did not want to “airbrush” the presenter out of proceedings but said that as there was video footage of his contact with Dymond, he questioned the need to involve him in the hearing.

The coroner accepted that another preliminary hearing may be needed to decide who would be called to give live evidence and whose testimony could be read.

The hearing was told Dymond was originally turned down to appear on the show but was accepted as a guest after gaining a letter from his doctor.

The inquest has heard he had been receiving mental health care from Southern Health NHS foundation trust. But Pegg ruled Southern Health had not “contributed” to the death of Dymond and removed it as an interested person.

Merry Varney, of the law firm Leigh Day, who represent Dymond’s family, said: “We welcome the coroner’s decision today confirming the scope of the inquest into Steve’s death.

“Having recognised in July that Jeremy Kyle himself ought to be an interested person, today’s confirmation that how Steve came to be on the Jeremy Kyle Show, how he was treated on it and the aftercare provided will all form part of the coroner’s inquest gives us real confidence Steve’s death will be fully and fearlessly investigated.”

Dymond’s death in May 2019 was caused by an overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy, which is when the left chamber of the heart is not pumping properly, the inquest has heard.

After the incident, ITV bosses permanently cancelled The Jeremy Kyle Show.