Former employees of controversial The Jeremy Kyle Show have claimed that working on the ITV programme was like being part of a "cult".
In a new Channel 4 documentary starting on Sunday, former producers and staff on the show have spoken anonymously about what they claim happened behind the scenes.
From claims of bear-baiting to lies, some have even said that they felt "brainwashed" while working on the show, The Mirror reports.
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Ex-employees have also claimed that the ITV programme gave its host, Jeremy Kyle, a "god complex" and that he was "incredibly nasty and demeaning".
The show ran for 14 years until ITV axed it following the death of guest Steve Dymond, who had failed a lie detector test on the show.
Afterwards, a public inquiry held by MPs singled out the behaviour of chat show host Jeremy over his "humiliating and demeaning" behaviour towards guests.
Unedited footage appears in the documentary - which was also shown at the inquiry - reveals Jeremy lashing out at crew and telling them to "f***ing shut up" and mocking guests.
One former staff member claims: "We were kind of a cult. I know that sounds bad, but I would say we was a cult because nobody was allowed to know what was going on in that office unless you worked in there."
While another claims: "I know 100% that I hurt people directly."
"It felt like we had blood on our hands. It felt like we killed someone," a third claims.
One staff member says that she was a big fan of Jeremy's before joining the show.
"I was a massive Jeremy Kyle fan, I never missed an episode and he just had this overwhelming charisma," she says. "It was tough love, it wasn't fake love that I thought Jeremy was giving. He had that cult leader personality that I was just drawn to. A lot of the time people would say, 'Why on earth would you go on the show?' and I was just like, 'Why wouldn't you go on that show?'"
Staff also claim that they frequently lied to guests in order to get them on the show - and then again when they arrived at the studio to rile them up.
"The lie came when you were in the studio," one claims. "You would go with them into the corridor and that's when the lie would come. You would tell the addicts and their families that there's three other families going on the stage - 'It's a fight for that one bed. Jeremy's going to pick who he wants so you need to go out there and you need to say what you need to say.'
"It was to get more emotion on the stage. They thought that other families were in the corridor."
Quizzed on whether bosses knew that the lies were going on, she claims: "Yeah."
Another former staff member claims: "You were always acting and you were always winding people up. You were just wound up yourself - it was insane. I mean, what was awful was when you kind of had more of a normal family, like Dom [Dominique Bishop, mum of Jeremy Kyle guest Kristie Bishop], you'd always s*** yourself because you'd be under this impression that the working class people - who weren't as clever - they wouldn't have questioned you."
Dominique first appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show with daughter Kristie in 2018 to get help for her daughter's drug addiction. They returned to the show in 2019 after completing a successful stint at rehab, but tragically died a year later after suffering a drugs relapse.
Appearing in the documentary, Dominique explains that the show had been their last option as they had desperately searched for a rehab place, but it was financially out of their reach.
She says the footage of them on the show is "really hard to watch" now and claims: "It wasn’t until I reflected that I thought it was really exploitative."
While she doesn't regret appearing on the show as they "had her back for 15 months" after she got clean through rehab, she considers it " the most traumatic experience that [she's] ever had."
She adds: "For me to feel as exploited as I did, I wonder how other families would cope without that support network. I can see why someone would take their own life. It’s clear to see."
ITV said in a statement: "The Jeremy Kyle Show was broadcast for 14 years. In that time, 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 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 filming. 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.
"Due to the gravity of events in May 2019, namely the death of a guest a few days after taking part in the show, ITV decided to end production of the show. It would not be appropriate for ITV to comment further on that in advance of the inquest to be held later this month.
"ITV does not accept the central allegation of this programme of a “bad culture” within the production team. We note that the programme includes anonymous former production members claiming wrongdoing by themselves and others, without supporting evidence. ITV would never condone any of its production staff misleading or lying to guests. All guests on the Jeremy Kyle Show were aware of the nature of the show and the presenter’s style before taking part in recording. Most of those who applied to appear watched the show themselves. All guests gave their informed consent, in writing, to take part.
"Since 2018 ITV has taken significant steps in relation to its duty of care of participants. ITV issued detailed new guidance to all its producers on protecting participants in October 2019, which represents industry-leading good practice and now reflects the changes to the Broadcasting Code made by industry regulator Ofcom in 2021. ITV also ensures greater management oversight of participant welfare through a Duty of Care Board, and has created a Mental Health Advisory group involving mental health charities to advise ITV on its policies for staff and programme guests."
Jeremy Kyle was approached for a response to the series. He did not provide a statement for broadcast.
However, Jeremy addressed the axing of his show in an interview with The Sun in 2021, saying that it had left him "devastated" and believes he was made a "scapegoat" in the fallout.
He said: "I don’t want to sound ‘woe is me’, and as I’ve said the whole thing was a terrible tragedy — devastating for Steve Dymond’s friends and family, of course, and for the many people who worked on the show.
“But it did hit me hard. And it’s been awful to feel so scapegoated, and without being able to have my say about the accusations that often seemed to be levelled only at me.
“I’ve felt hunted and made out to be responsible for everything that ever took place around that show. But I was just the face of it."
*The Jeremy Kyle Show: Death on Daytime airs Sunday and Monday at 9pm on Channel 4
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