An inquest into a man who killed himself a week after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show has found “insufficient evidence” to rule that participating in the programme caused his death.
Steve Dymond, 63, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, is thought to have ended his life seven days after filming for the ITV show in May 2019.
The inquest in Winchester heard Dymond was “booed” by the audience during the show after a lie-detector test suggested he was not truthful when he denied cheating on his partner, Jane Callaghan.
Ruling out Dymond’s treatment by The Jeremy Kyle Show as a contributory factor in his death, the Hampshire coroner Jason Pegg said: “There is insufficient evidence for me to be satisfied that this was the direct cause of Steve’s death,” adding there was “no causal link” between his appearance on the show and his death.
Pegg concluded Dymond’s death was suicide while he was suffering from mental distress at the belief that his relationship had “irretrievably broken down”.
He said: “The deceased’s decision to take his own life was made in the context of his mental distress that was probably exacerbated by his belief that a significant relationship had now irretrievably broken down following his participation on a television programme where it had been suggested that the deceased had lied to his partner.”
He added that Dymond had left notes for this family and said: “There is nothing in those notes where Mr Dymond is critical of his treatment by the show.”
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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org