The guest who died shortly after appearing on the Jeremy Kyle Show is suspected to have taken his own life, according to friends and family close to him.
The daytime television program was shut down indefinitely following news of a death following the filming of an episode, as show guest Steve Dymond was reported to have died of a drug overdose.
The 63-year-old had appeared on the show to clear his name of cheating allegations, but when he failed the lie detector test, friends say his mood immediately took a turn for the worse.
Speaking to the Sun, Michael Bradley, a friend of Dymond's, said that the guest had always maintained his innocence, regardless of the test results.
"He failed the test but was adamant he hadn’t done anything wrong. He got made out to be wrong but he wasn’t," Bradley said, while his landlady - known only as Shelley - said that Dymond was distraught once returning from the show.
"He was just a mess and he was just humiliated," Shelley said to the Daily Mail, saying Dymond was "sobbing and distraught". "I tried to calm him down and sent him to bed with a hot drink," she recalled, but four days later, Dymond had died of a morphine overdose, prescribed for his painful arthritis.
"He was traumatised. Steve said it got quite nasty on the show. Four days later he was dead. I really believe it was the show that tipped him over the edge."
Meanwhile, Dymond's fiancée Jane said that the pair split up once the episode ended, but got several texts from Dymond, including one that said: "I can’t live without you. I just wanted to come and see you. I just wanted to say sorry before I go. My life is not worth living without you."
"I know we split up a week ago but we were together for two years. He was still my fiancé. I still loved him. As much as he was a pig to me I still loved him," said Jane after Dymond allegedly took his own life. She still believes that he was unfaithful to her, but also said that Dymond had been diagnosed with depression back in February.
"We got engaged Christmas Day 2017. He was crying, the love was real. He was the most generous and loving person. He was quietly struggling, and we didn’t know at the time. He cheated on me, I know he did. I can’t forgive but I just want him to be alive."
"He had never been diagnosed with depression before," continued Jane.
"When we split in February he went to the doctor and was put on anti-depressants but he never took any. It was all for my benefit because I said he needed help. When we went back the doctor said, 'You look fine and happy'. Steve said he wasn’t depressed and said we were trying to work it out. Then we paid for that letter to get on to the [Jeremy Kyle] show."
In a statement, broadcasters ITV said that they were not going to screen in the episode in which Dymond appeared. "Everyone is shocked and saddened at the news of the death of a participant in the show. ITV will not screen the episode in which they featured," the statement said.
"ITV has also decided to suspend both filming and broadcasting of The Jeremy Kyle Show with immediate effect in order to give it time to conduct a review of this," the statement added.
