Jeremy Kyle guest felt 'life was not worth living'

An inquest of a man who died of an overdose after appearing on the Jeremy Kyle Show has heard that he felt "life was not worth living."

Steve Dymond, from Portsmouth, is thought to have taken his own life days after filming for the ITV programme in May 2019.

The 63-year-old took a lie detector test for the show after being accused of cheating on his ex-partner, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport.

Coroner Jason Pegg said a full inquest would be held from 3 September.

Mr Dymond died of an overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth, a previous inquest was told.

Claire Overman represented Mr Dymond's brother, Leslie Dymond, and son, Carl Woolley, at the preliminary hearing in Winchester.

Leslie Dymond said his brother had told him the audience had "booed and hissed" at him, she said.

Ms Overman said his brother's account also suggested Mr Kyle had called him a "traitor and a failure" but video evidence showed that the host had not said this, but had called him a "serial liar".

She added that Mr Dymond had told his brother he was in tears and on the "point of collapsing, incredibly stressed, completely broken" and "consumed by what happened on the show".

He had talked about considering "jumping out of the taxi on the way home", the inquest heard.

Ms Overman said his brother also said it was "like he had been brainwashed, he [Steve Dymond] said he was worthless and couldn't go on living".

The coroner, Mr Pegg, said Leslie Dymond had been ruled medically unfit to attend the full inquest.

He said that he would accept his written statement as evidence but then make a decision on its reliability.

Neil Sheldon KC, representing Mr Kyle, said that it was a "misleading and inaccurate account" based on hearsay and that footage from the show showed the reality of what had happened.

The coroner said the scope of the inquest would cover Mr Dymond's involvement with the ITV show but also his personal relationships.

He said: "It's quite relevant there were other things going on in Mr Dymond's life at the time of his passing."

He added that Mr Dymond's relationship with his ex-partner Jane Callaghan and others around him at the time will also be considered.

Rachel Spearing, counsel to the inquest, said the coroner had ruled the case would not be "a roving inquiry into practices of reality television".

She added that Mr Dymond's history of mental health issues would also be examined.

The Jeremy Kyle show had run for 14 years but was axed shortly after Mr Dymond's death.

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