Jeremy Kyle expected to appear at inquest into guest’s suspected suicide
TV host has been named as an ‘interested person’ in the inquest into death of Steve Dymond, who died in 2019
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Kyle could be called up to attend the inquest of a guest who is believed to have died by suicide after appearing on his now axed ITV show.
The body of 63-year-old Steve Dymond was discovered at his Portsmouth home on 9 May 2019, a week after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show. He was there to take a lie detector test to prove he had not been cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, from Gosport. He is thought to have taken his own life.
Mr Dymond was reportedly worried about the repercussions of appearing on the programme, with Hampshire Police telling a previous inquest hearing that his death by morphine overdose was a suspected suicide.
Hampshire coroner Jason Pegg has previously ruled that Mr Kyle had called Mr Dymond a “serial liar” and said he “would not trust him with a chocolate button”.
The coroner made the Talk TV host an interested person to the inquest because “he may have caused or contributed” to Mr Dymond’s death.
Other interested persons named during the hearing were members of Mr Dymond’s family, ITV and Mr Dymond’s GP.
Mr Pegg said that the full inquest would be held from Tuesday until 9 September and it is understood that Mr Kyle is expected to attend the court to give evidence at the full hearing.
Rachel Spearing, who has been appointed as counsel to the inquest, said that the coroner had ruled that the case would not be “a roving inquiry into practices of reality television”.
She said that the inquest would primarily look at the circumstances of Mr Dymond’s life between 14 March 2019 and 9 May 2019.
Ms Spearing said: “The scope will review the deceased’s interaction with his GP and his acceptance and participation in The Jeremy Kyle Show.
“We will be reviewing Mr Dymond’s participation in the show as far as it is relevant to his mental state including the lie detector and the aftercare provided and that involves the role of the production company and ITV.”
She added that Mr Dymond’s history of mental health issues would also be examined.
Ms Spearing added that the inquest had been given access to footage from a Channel 4 documentary into Mr Dymond’s death.
If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.