‘I wouldn’t trust you with a chocolate button’: Unaired Jeremy Kyle show clips played at inquest

Jeremy Kyle has defended his chat show during the inquest into the death of a man who died after filming an episode.

It came as the the court was also shown clips from the unaired show for the first time.

Steve Dymond, 63, was found dead at his home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in May 2019, seven days after taking part in the show.

A coroner found he had died of a combination of a morphine overdose and left ventricular hypertrophy in his heart.

Mr Dymond had taken a lie detector test for the ITV programme after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan. Following his death, the episode was never aired, and the series was later cancelled.

Speaking on day three of the inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court, Kyle stood by the structure of the show, saying the stories featured were "a journey" containing both "conflict" and "resolution".

The court was shown clips from the unaired episode, with one showing Kyle saying to Mr Dymond: "The truth of the matter is you mate, you did make up a cacophony of lies, you can sit there looking upset, people could look at this and think it's dodgy."

Then after revealing the result of the lie detector test, Kyle says: "The test says you are lying, pal, you failed every single question."

The clip shows Ms Callaghan bursting into tears with boos being heard from the audience and Mr Dymond looking shocked as he says: "I wasn't, I have never been unfaithful."

Kyle replied: "The studio thought you were telling the truth, I wouldn't trust you with a chocolate button mate."

The 59-year-old presenter also told the court he believed the show took "the right approach", and he "always believed the stories were a journey."

Kyle said you could "absolutely" see a journey in Mr Dymond's case, including where he and his partner "face the truth". He said: "It is conflict, it is resolution."

He also made clear he was "not involved in the selection of guests" on his TV show," and was "employed absolutely as the presenter".

The process of the lie detector test

On Thursday morning, the inquest was told that after filming had finished, Mr Dymond had told a researcher: "I wish I was dead."

Mr Dymond had rung ITV 40 to 50 times in "desperate" attempts to become a guest on the show, the inquest was previously told.

Video clips from the unaired show were played to the court, showing Mr Dymond being advised about the processes of the lie detector test.

In the video, Mr Dymond asked the polygraph examiner, who was contracted by ITV to carry out the procedure, whether the test is "99.9% accurate", to which the examiner replied: "They are 95% accurate" with a "narrow risk of error".

The examiner also advised 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".

Lie detector results added 'element of drama'

Chris Wissun, director of content compliance at ITV at the time Mr Dymond appeared on the ITV show, returned to the witness box, explaining that the lie detector test was "a very well-established editorial feature of the programme".

He said Kyle would not have been informed of the lie detector result ahead of time but would discover the outcome in real time during the filming of the show.

Mr Wissun said: "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."

He also said he was not aware that Kyle had been asked to "modify his approach or presenting style" when dealing with Mr Dymond.

Mr Wissun previously told the court he had been informed that Kyle was "very receptive" to advice from the aftercare team about whether he needed to adapt or soften his presenting style for particular guests.

Ms Callaghan and Mr Dymond's son, Carl Woolley, gave evidence on the first day of the inquest.

Mr Dymond had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder in 1995 and taken overdoses on four previous occasions - in January 1995, twice in December 2002, and April 2005 - the hearing was told on Wednesday.

The court heard he also made another apparent suicide attempt in 2002.

He was sectioned in September 2005, and a mental health assessment then found he was at "risk of suicide".

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