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Steve Dymond/Facebook
Steve Dymond had been “growing concerned about the repercussions of the show”, a previous hearing was told
A man who was found dead after taking a lie-detector test on the Jeremy Kyle Show had told a researcher “I wish I was dead”, an inquest has heard.
Steven Dymond, 63, was discovered at his home in Portsmouth on 9 May about a week after recording the ITV programme.
Police have previously told the coroner the death was a suspected suicide.
A lawyer representing Mr Dymond’s family told a pre-inquest review he had stopped taking anti-depressants in order to take the show’s polygraph.
The court was told Mr Dymond was asked questions on the show, which has never been broadcast, about his relationship with on-off fiancee Jane Callaghan.
Barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher said the construction worker was “exceptionally vulnerable” when he took part in the recording on 2 May.
“After his cruel shaming he did not get the appropriate support from the aftercare team,” she told the court.
Ms Gallagher said there was a “very short” 72-hour period between it being suggested Mr Dymond appeared on the show and the actual filming
She said: “For a decision so potentially life-changing, there is no equivalent. There is no cooling off. You are jumped on very quickly.”
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ITV/Shutterstock
The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled in May following Mr Dymond’s death
Ms Gallagher said that following the recording, Mr Dymond was “put in a homeward-bound taxi within two hours of telling a researcher that he was really upset and that ‘life was nothing without Jane’ and said ‘I wish I was dead’, or words to that effect”.
There was no evidence that Mr Dymond was given welfare checks by any qualified mental health staff, she added.
“We presume this was left to a medically unqualified researcher,” she said.
Earlier, the hearing heard ITV has not yet let the family see any material from the recorded show. ITV has since said it will provide footage.
It was also heard the family have been denied legal aid towards his inquest.
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Jane Callaghan
Mr Dymond had been asked on the programme about his relationship with on-off fiancee Jane Callaghan
Merry Varney, a solicitor from law firm Leigh Day, which is acting for the family unpaid, said the Legal Aid Agency had wrongly asserted that a parliamentary inquiry into reality TV would look at the death of Mr Dymond.
Mr Dymond’s family have appealed against the Legal Aid Agency’s decision and are awaiting a response, despite a request for a quick reply, it was heard.
The MP leading the inquiry into reality TV had claimed the Jeremy Kyle Show producers treated guests like criminal suspects. The programme was permanently axed after Mr Dymond’s death.
A previous hearing at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court was told empty morphine packets were found next to Mr Dymond’s body after he had been “growing concerned about the repercussions of the show”.
The full inquest is scheduled to begin on 27 April 2020.