TV

Jeremy Kyle ‘should face prosecution’ after refusing to give evidence over guest’s death

His daytime show was axed in May

Tory MP Damian Collins has said he thinks Jeremy Kyle should face jail for refusing to give evidence over his now-axed show.

The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled permanently in May following the death of guest Steve Dymond.

After Mr Dymond’s death, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee launched an inquiry into reality TV.

Last month, a committee meeting was held to investigate the daytime show and Jeremy was asked to give evidence but he refused to attend.

Jeremy Kyle
Damian Collins has said he thinks Jeremy Kyle should face jail over his refusal to give evidence (Credit: ITV)

Read more: Jeremy Kyle guests were warned about his ‘presenting style’, documents show

Instead, executive producer of The Jeremy Kyle Show, Tom McLennan and Director of Aftercare Graham Stanier and other ITV bosses were slammed for failing to establish the accuracy of lie detector tests.

Mr Collins has now said he wants more to be done if people refuse to attend hearings.

He told The Guardian: “I believe we need to formalise powers and have clear real-world sanctions for those that refuse to comply with a request to provide evidence.

“In the US, such behaviour is treated as a criminal offence, just as perjury in court would be. These committees have become a place where parliament can stand up for the interests of the people.

“I am strongly in favour of real-world sanctions for those who fail to comply with parliamentary committees.”

Jeremy Kyle on ITV
Jeremy was left “devastated” when his daytime talk show was axed (Credit: ITV)

Last month, Mr Collins said in a statement: “The Jeremy Kyle Show is an important programme we will be looking at as part of the inquiry into reality television.

“We have sent an invitation to Mr Kyle through his representatives and we have received word back from them that he has declined to appear in front of the committee on Tuesday next week.”

Jeremy was left “devastated” in May when his daytime talk show was axed following Steve’s tragic death.

Mr Dymond, 63, died around a week after reportedly failing a love-cheat lie-detector test on Kyle’s confrontational daytime programme.

His death came amid growing scrutiny over the duty of care reality TV shows have to participants following the deaths of Love Island contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis.

What is Jeremy Kyle doing now?
Steve passed away following an appearance on the show (Credit: Facebook)

Read more: Jeremy Kyle ‘set to make dramatic TV return following axe of his show after guest’s death’

Jeremy said in a statement to The Sun at the time: “Myself and the production team I have worked with for the last 14 years are all utterly devastated by the recent events.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with Steve’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”

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Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)