Hopes Jeremy Kyle may have of reviving his TV career appear to be foundering as a documentary airs allegations about his axed chat show. The Jeremy Kyle Show ended in May 2019 after the suicide of guest Steve Dymond in an episode never broadcast.
ITV sources yesterday (Friday) said they were not aware of Kyle being involved in any shows at the moment. His publicist did not respond when contacted about new TV projects.
The lack of screen time comes despite what ITV director of television Kevin Lygo said about the host in 2019 following the cancellation of The Jeremy Kyle Show, which was launched in 2005. Mr Lygo said: "He is a consummate broadcaster and it would be absolutely wrong to apportion blame of the show against the presenter of it."
A Jeremy Kyle Show worker told Channel 4 of feeling guilty after Mr Dymond's death. She said: "I felt like I had blood on my hands. We felt like we killed someone." Kyle said at the time: "Myself and the production team are all utterly devastated by the recent events. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Steve's family and friends."
Senior Tory MP Damian Collins says he believes ITV bosses knew what was going on behind the scenes. He added: "People at the top of the company should have asked more questions. It's impossible to believe that no-one within the company raised concerns about this."
The Daily Mirror reports that Kyle has so far not commented on the allegations contained in the documentary. Channel 4 said: "Jeremy Kyle was approached for a response to the series. He did not provide a statement for broadcast. We'll reflect his position in the film."
ITV said in a statement: "More than 20,000 people took part in the show seeking help to resolve relationship issues or to address drug or alcohol related problems. The central purpose of the show was conflict resolution, and the show achieved many positive outcomes where people were able to resolve personal problems."
The statement continued: "The Jeremy Kyle Show had extensive and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors built up over 14 years. It had a dedicated guest welfare team of mental healthcare professionals with decades of experience in NHS mental healthcare who were focused on the welfare of guests throughout the production process.
"Guests were supported by the programme and welfare teams prior to filming, throughout filming and after." It continued: "Should they require ongoing help then appropriate solutions were found for them, which could include residential rehabilitation, counselling, anger management, family mediation, child access mediation or couples counselling."
The first part of the two-part documentary Jeremy Kyle Show: Death in Daytime is set to premiere tomorrow (Sunday) at 9pm on Channel 4.
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