ITV daytime talk show host Jeremy Kyle said he was “utterly devastated” after his show was cancelled following the apparent suicide of guest Steve Dymond.
“Myself and the production team I have worked with for the last 14 years are all utterly devastated by the recent events,” the British television host said in a statement to The Sun. “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Steve’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
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“Given the gravity of recent events we have decided to end production of The Jeremy Kyle Show,” ITV said in a statement. “The show has had a loyal audience and has been made by a dedicated production team for 14 years, but now is the right time for the show to end.”
Dymond was a Kyle fan who reportedly told the host he called about 300 times to get on the show. When he finally did, he took a lie detector test to prove he was not cheating on his girlfriend. However, Dymond failed the lie-detector test and the couple broke up after the show was filmed, reports The Sun. His ex-wife has also accused him of being a paedophile.
Ten days after the episode was filmed, the 63-year-old father of one was found dead at his Portsmouth apartment. His ex-girlfriend told The Sun she believes Dymond took an overdose of his prescription arthritis medication. Police said he had been dead for “a number of days” before his body was discovered.
After news broke of Dymond’s death, the episode was pulled from ITV’s schedule. According to The Independent, it was supposed to air on May 13, but was replaced with another daytime show.
Insiders told The Sun that ITV chief Dame Carolyn McCall was looking for a reason to cancel the controversial show.
“Carolyn and some of the other senior executives always thought the Kyle show was a thorn in the side of daytime — the format was very negative and in this day and age had become a bit toxic,” a source told The Sun. “It wasn’t fluffy and wholesome like the other shows but it was hugely popular — the best rated programme across the whole day until tea time. It would have been extremely brave to axe it out of nowhere, so a controversy gave them a reason to do it.”
Kyle’s show has proven to be so controversial that members of the U.K. Parliament launched an investigation into reality television programs.
“There needs to be an independent review of the duty of care TV companies have to participants in reality TV shows,” MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee said in a statement. “With an increasing demand for this type of programme, we’ll be examining broadcasting regulation in this area.”
The Jeremy Kyle Show launched in July 2005 and finished with more than 3,000 episodes. Kyle also briefly hosted a U.S. version filmed in New York from 2011 to 2013.
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