Jeremy Kyle will be called to give evidence into the apparent suicide of a guest on his show who died days after failing a lie detector test, a pre-inquest hearing has heard.
Coroner Jason Pegg said it would be ‘ludicrous’ if Kyle was not called in person at the full inquest into the death of Steven Dymond.
He said Kyle was an ‘interested party’ and may have ’caused or contributed’ to his death, which led to the programme being axed.
Witnesses have given statements to the coroner where they have described the events immediately after his appearance on the show – which never aired – with Kyle said to have called him a ‘ failure’.
Steven Dymond (left), 63, was said to have been left in tears and feeling suicidal after filming for Jeremy Kyle with his on-and-off girlfriend Jane Callaghan (right, with Mr Dymond)
New details about the events leading up to the death of 63-year-old Mr Dymond were revealed by a barrister representing his family.
Distressed by his appearance on the show, Mr Dymond told his brother he had been taken for a mug and pounced on by the presenter.
Kyle was said to have been ‘in his face’ and he was called a failure while being booed off the stage.
Mr Dymond was found dead days after his appearance last May. A previous hearing has been told the digger driver had died from an overdose of morphine and left ventricular hypertrophy, which is when the left chamber of the heart is not pumping properly.
The episode featuring Mr Dymond has never been shown on ITV and the Jeremy Kyle show scrapped after his death.
The pre-inquest hearing in Winchester before coroner Jason Pegg was held to establish the scope of the inquest and who will be called as witnesses.
Hampshire Coroner Jason Pegg said he had decided to make the presenter (pictured) an ‘interested person’ under the coroner’s rules in the case of Steve Dymond
Mr Pegg said Kyle was an interested party to the death. He was represented at the hearing by barrister Neil Sheldon
The coroner said it would be ‘ludicrous’ if Mr Kyle was not called to give evidence.
Barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher told the hearing the family were concerned by written submissions from Kyle’s QC that Dymond’s experience on the show were to blame for his death.
She said a suicide note left by Dymond made clear the impact of the show with his note saying he had gone on the show to prove he was not unfaithful to his girlfriend Jane Callaghan.
Gallagher said the note revealed Mr Dymond had said he was ‘pushed and pulled and it all went wrong.’
She read out statements from Dymond’s brother Leslie who had several telephone conversations prior to his death at his rented flat in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on May 9th 2019.
She said Dymond had described the scenes at the TV studio immediately after he had failed a lie detector test to show he had not been unfaithful.
She said:’ Leslie was told by his brother he was booed and Jeremy Kyle was in his face and he was followed by cameras and a microphone. He was jeered and called a failure. He was on the point of collapsing and tried to leave by a side door. He was trying to escape. He was on his hands and knees and thought he was going to pass out.’
A member off the production staff in a witness statement had said Dymond was in tears and had said he ‘wished he was dead’ before he left the studio.
In another telephone conversation Dymond had told a friend he had been ‘taken for a mug’ and had been pounced on by Kyle.
Kyle was not present for the pre-inquest hearing heard in a conference room at Hampshire County Council.
The pre-inquest hearing was told the inquest will look into Mr Dymond’s mental health in the seven weeks before he appeared on the show.
Steve Dymond (pictured) took his life after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle show where he failed the ‘lie-detector test’
His had initially been ruled unfit to appear on the show but after a visit to his GP on 29th April 2019 was given a letter to say he was fit to appear.
After his May 9th appearance when he was booed and jeered off stage he returned home and told his landlady he had considered throwing himself from the taxi bringing him back to Portsmouth.
The coroner said the inquest will looked into the aftercare offered to Mr Dymond by the production team.
The family’s barrister said Dymond’s brother Leslie had spoken with him up to four times a day until he stopped responding to calls where he had spoken about his distress from the show appearance. Dymond was often in tears.
Miss Gallagher said the family had concernes about the written submissions made by ITV’s barrister Simon Antrobus and Mr Sheldon QC.
ITV had submitted that the best evidence for Mr Dymond’s death should come from his suicide note.
Gallagher said:’ The family take issue with that. There is no reason why a suicide note is better evidence that other available evidence and they are anxious to ensure the picture is corrected.’
The QC also said the family objected to the submission made on behalf of Kyle which said there was no evidence that his appearance on the show was the cause of his death. They had argued that Mr Kyle should not be called as an interested party.
‘This is astonishing and not in keeping with the material before you,’ said Gallagher.
‘It is not correct to say there is no evidence that his experience on the show probably caused his death.
‘Mr Dymond’s suicide note makes clear the impact of the Jeremy Kyle show. He said he went on the show to show he was not unfaithful….but was pushed and pushed and it all went wrong.’
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