Jeremy Kyle breaks his silence on the heartbreaking moment he learned of guest Steve Dymond's tragic death

JEREMY Kyle spoke about the heartbreaking moment when he learned of the tragic death of his guest Steve Dymond.

Steve, 63, was found dead at his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, days after filming of The Jeremy Kyle Show in May 2019.

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It was revealed that the digger driver had died of an overdose after failing a lie detector test on the hit ITV show.

Mr Dymond failed the test when he tried to prove that he had not cheated on his ex-fiancée Jane Callaghan.

Now Jeremy Kyle has recalled the moment he first learned of Steve's suicide at ITV's Manchester studios.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, he said: “I went into the office on the morning of the 9th I think and was sitting in my dressing room when one of the show managers came in and told me the tragic news and you just thought, 'Oh my God'. It was such a shock.”

“Filming was cancelled, I went home and never returned to Manchester Studios.

“I spent the whole weekend not knowing what to think, and rightly so, because the whole show is pointless because all you can think about is this guy being in this horrible situation.”

Jeremy also described in detail the psychological and physical strain that the last five and a half years – since Steve took his own life – have caused him.

The ashamed radio presenter was prescribed the antidepressant Citalopram after the tragedy.

He says: “Let us not forget that, first and foremost, someone took his own life because he was in a situation from which he saw no way out.

“Out of respect, I didn't speak for five and a half years because there was a court case that dragged on and on for many reasons.

“It should never have been about me; it's about Steve and his family. That was my first thought when I found out.

“And then I thought about the hundred people who had worked on the show who had lost their jobs overnight – some of them even had their mortgages foreclosed. I remember being in this bubble at the time and not even understanding what had happened, but I get it. I understand the criticism.

“I think everyone would probably ask [themselves] when something like this happens. “You look in the mirror, of course you do. It would be inhuman not to, wouldn't it?

“Look, I know I did the show to the best of my ability. I'm sure I didn't always get it right.

“But my conscience is clear. The coroner was right when he said there was nothing I could have done or could have done to prevent this tragedy. I was hosting a show. Steve had been given permission to appear by both ITV's aftercare team and his own GP.”

Yesterday, a coroner ruled that Steve's appearance on the show was not connected to his death.

The court was told that Steve was “booed” by the audience when the test results were announced and that after filming had finished, he told a researcher: “I wish I were dead.”

He was later described to the court as being “broken” and “desperate” after his appearance on the show.

However, an investigation into Steve's death found that there was “no reliable evidence” that the events on the show directly led to his death.

“Insufficient evidence”

The court was told that Steve insisted he was telling the truth when he took the lie detector test on the show.

Hampshire Coroner Jason Pegg concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to prove that Kyle contributed to Steve's poor mental state.

In ruling that it was suicide, he said: “After careful consideration of the evidence, there is no reliable evidence to suggest that Steven Dymond's appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show is likely to have caused or contributed to his death. To suggest otherwise would be speculation.”

“I am not convinced that the events on The Jeremy Kyle Show have established a clear link which caused or contributed to the death of Steven Dymond so that I should record this as a contributing factor.

“Steven Dymond has been diagnosed with a personality disorder and mental illness in the past, which manifested itself on multiple occasions prior to each appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show and resulted in Steve Dymond self-harming or displaying suicidal thoughts.”

The inquest previously determined that Steve died on May 9, 2019 from a combination of an overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy – a thickening of the heart.

He had called his son Carl Woolley on the day of filming and was “very upset”. He claimed he was booed by the audience.

In his testimony at the inquiry, Mr Kyle defended his presentation approach.

He told the court: “I think the people who came on the show – I think the show had been on for 15 years – and I think the approach to conflict resolution was always the same.”

“Yes, it was direct, but it was sensitive, it was honest.”