An inquest into a man who died by suicide a week after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show has ruled there was “insufficient evidence” to say his death was caused by his participation in the programme.
Steve Dymond, 63, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, is believed to have taken his own life seven days after finishing filming for the ITV show in May 2019.
His death led to the abrupt cancellation of the show after 14 years on the air and sparked a congressional investigation into the network's treatment of reality show contestants.
Unaired footage released last week showed a distraught Dimond being booed by the audience after he failed a lie detector test to see if he had cheated on his partner Jane Callahan, after a senior producer for the show admitted the test was “between 60 and 96 per cent” accurate.
Hampshire coroner Jason Pegg said his treatment on The Jeremy Kyle Show did not contribute to Steve's death, saying there was “insufficient evidence to be satisfied that this was the direct cause of Steve's death,” adding that there was “no causal link” between his appearance on the show and his death.
Pegg concluded that Dimond's death was a suicide caused by the emotional distress he suffered after he believed his relationship with her had “irretrievably broken down”.
“The deceased's decision to commit suicide may have been exacerbated by the psychological distress caused by his or her appearance on a television programme in which it was suggested that the deceased had lied to his or her partner, which he or she felt had irreparably ruined a significant relationship,” he said.
He added that Dimond had left a note for the family, saying: “There is nothing in that note that Mr Dimond criticises the programme's treatment of him.”
Speaking after the verdict, Jeremy Kyle said the case had “put a huge strain on me and my family”. He said he had “remained silent in the face of lies, false accusations and unfair criticism for the past five and a half years”, adding: “I would like to thank everyone who has offered me their heartfelt support at this difficult time”.
Mr Dymond's son, Carl Woolley, said the “only good thing” to come out of his father's death was that The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled.
“My view is that anyone who has seen the clips from the show [Dymond] “I was left in tears and subjected to extremely cruel words from Jeremy Kyle,” he said in a statement read out after the verdict.
ITV said the coroner's findings confirmed the show had a “comprehensive duty of care process which covered the selection of performers to appear on the show and their care during and after filming”.
During the week-long inquest into Dimond's death, Kyle was present at the hearing to defend his “blunt” but “caring” behaviour on the show. In unseen footage from the show, Kyle can be heard telling Dimond to “be brave and tell her the truth”.
Pegg concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to determine whether Dimond lied during a lie detector test. He said: “The lie detector test recorded that Steve gave false answers to every question he was asked.”
“There is insufficient evidence to convince me as to whether Steve actually lied during the lie detector test.”
