Kyle guest called show '40 or 50 times' to appear on it

A man believed to have killed himself after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show called the programme “40 or 50 times” in a desperate attempt to go on, the inquest into his death has heard.

- TARA COBHAM

Steve Dymond, 63, died of an overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth seven days after filming for the ITV programme in May 2019.

The 63-year-old had failed a lie detector test he took for the show after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport in Hampshire.

Chris Wissun, who was an in-house lawyer and director of content compliance at ITV when Mr Dymond died, gave evidence at Winchester Coroners’ Court during the second day of the hearing yesterday.

While questioning Mr Wissun, counsel to the inquest Rachel Spearing said of Mr Dymond: “This was a man that had rung 40 or 50 times... was absolutely desperate to be on the show.”

Mr Wissun denied that The Jeremy Kyle Show sought unstable guests, telling the inquest: “I don’t believe the show ever deliberately targeted unstable people.”

He added: “In fact, part of the assessment process was that only people who were able to take part, and [were] competent in their mental health to take part, should do so.”