Jeremy Kyle denies 'belittling' TV show guest at inquest into death of Steve Dymond
Warning: This video contains material that some viewers may find distressing
The court was shown clips of the unaired programme
Jeremy Kyle has defended his presenting style at an inquest into the death of a man who had been a guest on his TV show, saying "it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest".
Steve Dymond, 63, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, is believed to have killed himself seven days after filming for the Jeremy Kyle Show in May 2019.
He had taken a lie detector test for the programme after being accused of cheating on his partner, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport, Hampshire.
Mr Kyle told Winchester Coroner's Court that clips from the programme featuring the case of Mr Dymond and his partner, Jane Callaghan, showed he had "de-escalated... calmed it down".
He also denied encouraging the audience to take against 63-year-old Mr Dymond, telling the inquest: "Not at all - I asked them to give them a round of applause."
The court was shown a number of clips from the show, including Mr Kyle telling Mr Dymond: "Be a man, grow a pair of balls and tell her the goddam truth."
Another featured the presenter asking "Has anyone got a shovel?" as Mr Dymond attempted to explain why he had been messaging another woman.
Jeremy Kyle arrives at Winchester Coroner's Court on Thursday
Rachel Spearing, counsel to the inquest, asked Mr Kyle on Thursday: "Do you believe he was humiliated?"
The broadcaster replied: "I do not, and I have read over time apparently I called him a traitor - I didn't - that he was cowering. I did what I always do and always did, it was what the show... as I understood the show is, sad as it might sound, it was a typical part."
He added: "It was a show with my name on it, with a production team and an after-care team behind it."
Defending his presenting style, Mr Kyle said: "I think that people who came on the show... I think the show had been on air for 15 years, and I believe the approach for conflict resolution was always the same. "Yes, it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest."
Referring to Mr Dymond's case, Mr Kyle added: "I de-escalated, I calmed it down and I put them backstage. "That's what I always believed the show was about - conflict resolution."
Maya Sikand KC, representing Mr Dymond's family, asked Mr Kyle if he had been "belittling" over his handling of the guest during the recording.
She said he responds: "I can't remember when" with Mr Kyle continuing: "You are lying again aren't you? You can't remember when she did."
Ms Sikand said Mr Dymond then says: "I cross my heart," then Mr Kyle says: "Just give me the results." She asked Mr Kyle: "This is pretty belittling isn't it?
He replied: "I wouldn't agree with you, I would say it's the part, from the beginning I had a joke with him, he did get upset but he wasn't upset from the beginning, that's the journey and that's the way the Jeremy Kyle show was."
Mr Kyle told the court he was "not involved in the selection of guests" for the show.
He said: "I want to make a point: I have, in my 14-and-a-half years, not been involved in the selection of guests. I was employed absolutely as the presenter."
He said he was sent a dossier the night before filming which detailed the approximately 20 guests involved in a day's recording.
"I had no involvement in the process of selection or anything like that," he said.
He later added: "The production, the producing, the after-care, the lie detector test were not my responsibility, I was the presenter."
The presenter said he had created a persona for the show but had not beentrained in handling emotional guests.
He said: "The show developed, it was a character, a part, by understanding that, from day one, as I keep saying, it's conflict resolution so it involved many aspects of many stories and many different approaches."
The court was shown video clips of Mr Dymond being advised about the processes of the lie detector test
Chris Wissun, director of content compliance at ITV at the time, returned to the witness box on Thursday
He had previously told the hearing that Mr Dymond had been rejected on his first application to the show because he had disclosed that he had been diagnosed with depression and prescribed anti-depressants.
Video clips shown in court show Mr Dymond asking the polygraph examiner, who was contracted by ITV to carry out the procedure, whether the test is “99.9% accurate”, to which the examiner replies “They are 95% accurate” with a "narrow risk of error".
The examiner also advises Mr Dymond that "if you fail one question, you fail the lot".
The clips also show Mr Dymond watching a video informing him about the test which advises the participant to be "truthful, open and honest".
Mr Wissun said: "This was a very well-established editorial feature of the programme.
"The result of the test would be given by the polygraph examiner to the producer.
"The producer wouldn’t reveal the results to the presenter, the results would be given to him during the programme.
"He would open the envelope and reveal the results and tell the guests what the results were.
"There was an element of drama in that moment."
Nick Sheldon KC, representing Mr Kyle, asked Mr Wissun if he had seen any evidence that the presenter had been asked to “modify his approach or presenting style” when dealing with Mr Dymond.
Mr Wissun replied “No” and also agreed with Mr Sheldon’s suggestion that Mr Kyle was “very responsive to guidance of that sort”.
Mr Wissun previously said a producer had created a draft headline for Mr Dymond’s first application on April 9 which read “Missing Viagra and lies about being in the Navy, are you a cheat?”
He said the subsequent letter from Mr Dymond’s GP, requesting to support a second application, was a “very unusual circumstance”.
He added that Mr Dymond had been given a one-to-one assessment despite the receipt of the GP’s letter.
Mr Wissun said the lie detector test was not offered to anyone currently diagnosed with depression and added: "The lie detector test was a feature of the show which had been used by the show throughout its run.
"Quite a lot of potential guests applied to come on the show specifically to take a lie detector as Mr Dymond did."
The witness previously told the inquest he was informed that Mr Kyle was "very receptive" to advice from the aftercare team about whether he needed to adapt or soften his presenting style for particular guests.
He said it was a "very important" part of guest welfare processes that guests were giving "informed consent" to take part and that they "understood the nature of the format and also the style of the presenter".
Mr Dymond had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder in 1995, and sectioned for his mental health in 2005.
Mental health help and support links:
Samaritans: Call on 116 123 or visit the website.
NHS 111: Non-emergency advice is available online (Only call 111 if you cannot get help online). People with hearing problems can use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) service.
MIND: Call 0300 123 3393 or find tips and support on its website. Mind information and support.
Shout: Confidential 24/7 crisis text support. Text "SHOUT" to 85258 or visit Shout Crisis Text Line.
Crisis Support For Young People: Under 35s. Call Papyrus's Hopeline UK from 9am to 10pm weekdays and 2pm to 10pm on weekends. 0800 068 41 41. Text 07786 209697 or visit the Papyrus website.
CALM: The Campaign Against Living Miserably, for people in the UK who are down or have hit a wall for any reason. Call 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight). Free, anonymous webchat with trained staff or visit the CALM website.
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