From 2005 to 2019, The Jeremy Kyle Show was a staple of British daytime telly, as it delved into the personal lives of participants, offering them DNA tests, rehab facilitation and lie detector tests in a bid to help get to the bottom of their issues.
In 2019, however, the show was taken off air, following the death of Steve Dymond, who died of a morphine overdose and a heart problem in a suspected suicide 10 days after filming an episode, which never aired.
Dymond went on the show to prove to his partner Jane that he hadn’t cheated on her. However, he failed the lie detector test.
In a new Channel 4 documentary, titled Jeremy Kyle Show: Death on Daytime, staff members and families of former participants have opened up about the reliability of the infamous lie detector tests.
Former production staff members agreed to share their accounts on the documentary, but only if their stories were told via actors and their names remained anonymous.
“I have been telling people for so long that, ‘They are 97% accurate. I know that they’re real. I know that they’re right,’” one revealed.
“Sometimes you just made up whatever it was off the top of your head, so you’d just go, ’86 per cent’ or ’90 per cent’ or whatever. No one really knew what the accuracy was,” another said.
“I think 99.9. I can’t remember. 99.9 per cent, I think,” a third said.
In 2019, ITV bosses were made to give evidence before MPs at a reality TV enquiry.
Senior staff involved in the show, including the managing director of ITV Studios, Julian Bellamy, and the director of entertainment, Tom McLennan, appeared in front of the culture committee.
Asked about the reliability of the polygraph tests, McLennan said at the time: “We know they aren’t 100 per cent, that’s why we’ve always been incredibly clear with the people coming on the show before they were filmed and before they took the test and the viewers.”
It was then revealed in the hearing, based on the findings from Professor Ray Bull of Derby University, that even in perfect conditions with a trained expert using the machine, he believed the test was at best 66 to 70 per cent accurate.
Speaking in the new documentary, a former staff member said: “That was one of the first times I ever felt like, ‘Hold on a minute. Something isn’t right here. I feel as if I’ve had the wool pulled over my eyes.’”
Another added: “Some people would go away and pay for another lie detector and it might come out with a different result. They ring me up and go, ‘I told you I was telling the truth.’ You kind of just have to say, ‘Oh, good for you. There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s not going to change the result of the show. It’s not going to change how that show goes out.’”
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In another scene of the documentary, a participant reveals how her former partner who appeared on the show after he was accused of theft, paid for another test and received completely different results to the ones given on the show.
“I’ve got the card that says, ‘You were lying’ and the second one, three years after, exactly the same questions, completely opposite results,” she said.
In response to the claims in the documentary, 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.”
They added: “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.”
RadioTimes.com has reached out to Jeremy Kyle about the claims, but at the time of going to press, has not received a response.
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Jeremy Kyle Show – Death on Daytime airs on Channel 4 on Sunday 13th March and Monday 14th March at 9pm. For something else, visit our TV Guide our check out dedicated Documentaries hub.
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