The Jeremy Kyle Show used
to be one of the most popular daytime TV programmes ever, yet it was axed
suddenly in May 2019. This followed the death of one of its "guests",
a Portsmouth man named Steve
Dymond. The true story of how Mr Dymond passed away has never been officially revealed
yet it is likely to be suicide. He died a week after appearing on the
programme. Today a coroner announced that there was no causal link at all
between Mr Dymond's fate and the TV show. Jeremy himself gave evidence at the
inquest. The Jeremy Kyle Show is a
prime example of "reality TV". It is very similar to Trisha or Jerry Springer, although far more extreme; a talk show in which
people are brought into the studio to talk about their problems, usually
involving some kind of conflict with each other. The live studio audience then
cheer or boo their approval and distain like crowds at a sporting event while
the host gives his own personal opinion. The participants seem to be almost always
of a certain demographic; working class white people who, to put it politely,
are never the brightest arclights on the stage. Jeremy Kyle claims he does the
show to help these people, to be "direct, empathetic and honest". He
believes his manner is "the right approach". However, The Jeremy Kyle Show has been described
by another judge as "human bear baiting". I have to agree. Even
though some of his guests certainly come across as people I would not introduce
to my children, to be told on live TV in front of millions of complete
strangers: "You loser! I hope she kicks you into touch!" How do we
know he deserves it? We are watching an edited recording of a kangaroo court in
which usually only the prosecution has been presented coherently. For all we
know he might be completely innocent; and a very vulnerable innocent person at
that.
Steve Dymond came onto the show with his fiancée Jane
Callaghan because she was afraid he was being unfaithful to her. Steve was very
keen to take part in the show to prove himself innocent by taking a "lie
detector test", a polygraph. This controversial practice is not permitted
in a court of law, but it is fine in the court of popular entertainment. Steve
starts weeping the moment he enters, admitting he has lied to Jane about other
things in the past, such as bragging to impress her, but he denies seeing other
women. He also reveals that he has previously been treated by a doctor for
depression, although the doctor did say it was alright for him to be on the
show. He fails the polygraph and Jane storms off backstage. Steve looks
genuinely shocked. Kyle says: "The test says you're a liar, pal. You
failed every question! I wouldn't trust you with a chocolate button!" The
crowd jeer at him without wondering if the polygraph machine is working alright
or whether Steve is entitled to a second opinion etc. Steve continues to
protest his innocence. Source: https://metro.co.uk/2024/09/10/inquest-death-jeremy-kyle-guest-steve-dymond-confirms-verdict-21577465/.
(Be warned! This article includes a segment from the programme, which was never
aired. I have watched it once; please never ask me to watch it again.) A week
later he was dead. He left a note to his loved ones that has remained private,
as it should. There may be many reasons why a person ends their own life. Sadly
suicides are becoming more and more frequent, especially among white males.
Nobody knows how much that day in the TV studio pushed him towards the edge. Something
like this was inevitable. When sadism and sensationalism pull in viewers and
therefore advertisers, sadism and sensationalism will be provided. The film Network has come true, see the background
links below. The ethical questions don't really count for much because most
people have no ethics; our society incentivises us to abandon them. Maybe there's
a natural part of us that takes pleasure in this spectacle, a schadenfreude. We can't change human
nature, but we can make decisions. We can choose not to indulge ourselves this
way. I hope we will wonder how we
would feel if we were put in Mr Dymond's situation. How would we like to be
treated? Let's decide to treat others the same way. The title of this article
is ironic, because Kyle was not on trial, he was a witness at a coroner's
inquest; but then couldn't the same be said for his "contestants"? The Jeremy Kyle Show has now gone. May
it burn forever in television hell.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2012/11/derren-brown-apocalypse.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2020/05/network.html.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2012/11/derren-brown-apocalypse.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2020/05/network.html.
2 comments:
Hi Ben, I agree. At work we used to play a bingo type game based on which minute(s) of the show he made reference to the guest's (un)employment, typically "Do you work?" or "Get a job you useless waste of space!" as if being employed is a universal solution to everyone's problems. If the issue is gambling, substance abuse or infidelity then a job is as likely to lead to those problems as it is to prevent them.
Jeremy Kyle bingo! LOL. He was like that though; he talked in cliches. I just spoke to somebody who met him face-to-face in a restaurant that she runs and she told me was very nice, totally different, and left a massive tip. I think, like many people on TV, he was acting. It's not just the regular actors who do fiction who act. I remember Katie Hopkins being a totally different person to what she's like now. She said she wouldn't let her daughter play with a girl named "Chardonnay". It wasn't really her; it was a persona, a character.
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