Steve was accused of cheating on live TV on The Jeremy Kyle Show. A week later he was found dead.

Content warning: This post deals with suicide.

For 14 years there was a show that dominated TV ratings in Britain.

The Jeremy Kyle Show was ITV's most popular program in its daytime schedule, and it was salacious to say the least. It mirrored American hit The Jerry Springer Show — every day families and loved ones appearing on television to detail their intimate problems.

The show was presented by Jeremy Kyle, an English broadcaster and writer.

Guests were mostly from a low socio-economic background and were dealing with a range of issues — from infidelity and addiction, to fake pregnancies and secret sibling incest. Their relationship breakdowns and serious challenges were dubbed as tabloid controversies and marketed as 'scandal' for TV audiences who lapped it up.

Many of the guests later claimed that they felt "stitched-up" on the show and "publicly humiliated".

Then in 2019, it was abruptly cut from airing. The reason why was devastating.

Watch: shocking moments from The Jeremy Kyle Show. Post continues below.

The Jeremy Kyle Show controversy.

The format would go as such — guests would come on, divulge their familial or relationship drama, and then the TV audience and presenter Kyle would react in horror.

There would be advice given by Kyle, along with psychotherapist Graham Stanier, who served as Director of Aftercare on the program.

The use of lie detectors was also very common, despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting the use of the equipment.

In May 2019, 63-year-old Steve Dymond appeared on the show after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancée Jane Callaghan.

Dymond failed the lie detector test, leading the live TV audience to "boo and jeer" at Dymond.

Kyle accused Dymond of being a "serial liar" and had also told him to "grow a pair of balls".

Dymond then sought to leave through a side door but found it locked.

"He couldn't escape the heckling. He was on his hands and knees because he thought he was going to pass out from the stress," a lawyer later claimed.

Seven days after filming the segment, Dymond was found dead in his Portsmouth home in Hampshire, UK. He had taken his own life.

Dymond's segment on the show never aired.

Following Dymond's death, ITV suspended recording and broadcasting The Jeremy Kyle Show. A statement was then released that read:

"Everyone at ITV and The Jeremy Kyle Show is shocked and saddened at the news of the death of a participant in the show a week after the recording of the episode they featured in and our thoughts are with their family and friends."

Then the backlash began.

Former ITV executives criticised the show, as did psychiatrists and psychologists, and even members of British Parliament. The office of the Prime Minister released a statement, referring to the matter as "deeply concerning".

Jeremy Kyle and Steve Dymond. Image: ITV.

The show's socials were then axed, and it was confirmed that it was permanently cancelled.

The inquest into The Jeremy Kyle Show.

At a pre-inquest review in 2020 coroner Jason Pegg said he had made Kyle an "interested person" for the inquest, saying the presenter was someone "who may have caused or contributed to the death of [Steve] Dymond".

Then the official inquest began.

As per a WhatsApp group message among crew, one crew member acknowledged that Dymond's state of mind was known to those around him on set.

"Just so you know, he's still crying, he has just said he wishes he was dead. Just giving you the heads up," the message read.

Medical records showed that Dymond had mental health challenges prior to his appearance on the show. He had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder in 1995 and attempted suicide on at least four occasions in the early 2000s.

The coroner also found that ITV had offered follow-up cognitive behavioural therapy support for Dymond.

This week — five years on from Dymond's death — a coroner ruled that The Jeremy Kyle Show's treatment of Dymond was not a "contributory factor" to his death.

Coroner Jason Pegg ruled it would be "speculative" to suggest the presenter and his show played a role in his death.

The coroner determined that although Kyle was "quite critical" of Dymond, there was "insufficient evidence" that Kyle's comments "contributed to his [Dymond's] distress".

The inquest also couldn't conclude whether Dymond had lied or told the truth during his lie detector test.

"The deceased's decision to take his own life was made in the context of his mental distress that was probably exacerbated by his belief that a significant relationship had now irretrievably broken down following his participation on a television program where it had been suggested that the deceased had lied to his partner," the coroner said.

In a statement following the inquest result, a spokesperson for Kyle reiterated his innocence.

"His Majesty's Coroner has today clearly and unequivocally found that Jeremy Kyle did not in any way cause or contribute to the tragic suicide of Steve Dymond. He is now exonerated of that ill-informed accusation and his name has finally been cleared," his lawyer said.

"This has taken a huge toll on him and his family and he would like to thank everyone who has truly supported him through these tough times."

The aftermath of The Jeremy Kyle Show.

In February 2020, an ITV producer of The Jeremy Kyle Show, Natasha Reddican, died. Her death was ruled a suicide.

At an inquiry into her death, her boyfriend and colleague told the court that the circumstances of the program being taken off air were "something that weighed on her mind a lot".

The coroner determined that Reddican seemed "to have been regarded as something of a pariah in the industry".

Her co-worker also said: "I think some people struggled with the shame of what happened."

For Dymond's family, they remain heartbroken over what has happened.

His son, Carl Woolley, read a statement outside the court, speaking to their distress.

"It has been five years since my father died. In my view, anyone watching the clips of the show can see that he was in tears and was spoken to in the most brutal way by Jeremy Kyle," Woolley wrote.

"The only good thing that came of my father's death is the Jeremy Kyle Show is cancelled."

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

Feature Image: ITV.