A pilot for a Jeremy Kyle evening show has been dropped amid claims guests were “deeply uncomfortable” sharing a platform with him.
The broadcaster had filmed the programme for TalkTV, the new station that Piers Morgan has joined.
The programme dissected the news of the day with a guest panel, which also included celebrities.
But it is claimed some guests booked to appear were unhappy sharing the stage with Kyle, 56, after the controversy over of The Jeremy Kyle Show’s demise.
TalkTV has since unveiled Sharon Osbourne, 69, as the host of major new primetime news panel show The Talk.
A source said of Kyle’s pilot: “Feedback was relayed back to the bookers who signed up the stars and guests, as well as the producers. Some were deeply uncomfortable sharing a platform with him, and made their feelings clear. It wasn’t a good look for them.”
A second insider said a Channel 4 documentary, shown this week, “hung over the filming like an ominous cloud”.
The source said: “People knew it was coming up and, to be honest, there was a real sense of apprehension in the air.”
It is believed the pilot was axed before the C4 show aired.
TalkTV sources say Kyle is still part of their schedule when it launches in the spring, and pointed to the popularity of his show on talkRADIO.
The source said: "We try lots of different things with lots of different people”, and that guests don’t have “any part to play in production decisions”.
A second source close to Kyle said he had filmed a number of pilot shows “as is typical of a start-up TV station to see what works and what doesn’t”.
“It’s not the case of Jeremy losing a show at all, this is very much what happens when a station is in its infancy, you try a lot of different stuff out,” the source added.
They said Sharon’s show was always a different one to Kyle’s, and that new shows featuring Kyle would be unveiled soon.
The Jeremy Kyle Show was axed by ITV in 2019 following the death of Steve Dymond, who took a lie detector test that ended his engagement.
The show featured explosive final texts from Dymond to his fiance.
They read: “I hope the Jeremy Kyle show is so happy now. They are responsible for what happens now. I hope this makes good ratings for them. I bet they keep this quiet.
“Never never never did I cheat on you. Never never. My final words.”
The C4 documentary revealed how staff felt extreme guilt over his death.
“I felt I had blood on my hands. We felt like we killed someone,” one worker said.
Kyle insisted this week there are “two sides to every story” after he and his old show were heavily criticised. The TV host, 56, said: “I will not comment on the tragic death of Steve Dymond until the legal process is finished.”
Speaking about her new show, Sharon said: “I’m excited to be working with News UK, the panel and my good friend Piers. Watch this space for some exciting and lively debates from us all.”
Piers Morgan Uncensored will be broadcast in the UK on TalkTV, streamed on FOX Nation in the US and aired in Australia on Sky News Australia.
