A man who died of suspected suicide in the days after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show told his ex that the programme is “responsible for what happens now” in his final message to her, an inquest has heard.
Steve Dymond, 63, died of an overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth seven days after filming for the ITV show in May 2019.
Mr Dymond had failed a lie detector test he took for the show after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan.
The inquest into his death on Tuesday heard the last text message he sent to his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, in which he said: “I hope The Jeremy Kyle show is so happy now as to what they have done to me. I did lie about my past, but not about me being a cheat – I never, ever did cheat on you. So they are responsible for what happens now.”
Mr Dymond’s son, Carl Woolley, earlier told the hearing at Winchester Coroners’ Court that his father had been “very upset” after the recording of the show.
Mr Woolley said he phoned his father who told him that Mr Kyle had “egged on” the audience to “boo him” and that he was “cast as the liar”.
Coroner Jason Pegg previously told the hearing, which is due to run until 10 September, that the purpose of the inquest was not to “apportion civil or criminal liability” to any person involved.
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Key Points
- Jeremy Kyle Show guest tells ex programme is ‘responsibile for what happens now’ in last text before death
- Kyle was ‘horrible’ and ‘rude’ to guest, ex tells inquest
- Ex agrees she told show’s producer Jeremy Kyle had been ‘great’ day after appearance
- Guest could not escape jeering audience, brother says
- ‘Very upset’ guest called son up to six times a day after failing lie detector test
Ex agrees she expressed ‘complete disapproval’ with Dymond’s past conduct after Jeremy Kyle appearance
17:27
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee has agreed that she expressed her “complete disapproval” with his past conduct after contacting one of his former partners following their appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show, an inquest into his death has heard.
Simon Antrobus KC, for ITV, put it to Jane Callaghan at the hearing that she made contact with this former partner and subsquently exchanged a number of messages with Mr Dymond.
Mr Antrobus said: “You discussed your complete disapproval with how Steve had conducted himself in the past.” Ms Callaghan agreed.
Ex agrees she told show’s producer Jeremy Kyle had been ‘great’ day after appearance
17:16
Tara Cobham
Ms Callaghan agreed that she told a producer from The Jeremy Kyle Show that the presenter had been “great” the day after appearing on the ITV programme, the inquest heard.
Neil Sheldon KC, for Mr Kyle, asked whether it was accurate that she told a producer from the show that the presenter had been “great” and Ms Callaghan said: “Yes.”
Mr Sheldon went on to ask a series of questions to which Ms Callaghan answered yes, including: “Do you remember Mr Kyle telling Steve that he wanted to put the two of your together backstage so you could work out your problems?”; “Do you remember him inviting the audience to give Steve a round of applause as he left the stage?”; “Do you remember him sitting down backstage (with Ms Callaghan and Mr Dymond)… and telling everybody to calm down?”.
Mr Sheldon suggested there was “not a single message” to her, from what Ms Callaghan could recall, in which Mr Dymond “complains about the way in which he was spoken to or treated by Mr Kyle”.
Ms Callaghan agreed.
Jeremy Kyle Show guest tells ex programme is ‘responsibile for what happens now’ in last text before death
17:13
Tara Cobham
The man who died of suspected suicide in the days after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show told his ex that the programme is “responsible for what happens now” in his final message to her, an inquest has heard.
Steve Dymond, 63, died of an overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth seven days after filming for the ITV show in May 2019.
Mr Dymond had failed a lie detector test he took for the show after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan.
The inquest into his death on Tuesday heard the last text message he sent to his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, in which he said: “This will be the last time I say it – I was never, ever unfaithful to you, in all the time we were together.
“I hope The Jeremy Kyle show is so happy now as to what they have done to me. I did lie about my past, but not about me being a cheat – I never, ever did cheat on you.
“So they are responsible for what happens now. I hope this makes good ratings for them. I bet they keep this quiet. Never did I cheat on you, never, ever. My final words. I did try to explain to you, but you were not listening.”
Representatives for ITV and for Jeremy Kyle have not yet given evidence at the inquest, so they have not yet been able to comment on the message heard in court.
Inquest hears of extent of ITV’s aftercare for Dymond and ex
16:26
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond and his ex-fiancee were seen by an ITV “aftercare nurse” immediately after he appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show, the inquest into his death has heard.
Simon Antrobus KC, representing ITV, said the nurse was acting as a mediator between the couple.
He told the hearing: “She passed on that he had lied, but just not on those three main things. She said to you that that might affect the test. She also said, as you said earlier, that the test itself wasn’t 100 per cent accurate. She did that to make sure that you didn’t leave believing it was 100 per cent the case that Steve had cheated.”
Mr Antrobus also said that ITV had offered to help Mr Dymond and had provided him with the number of a counsellor. He added that the broadcaster made follow-up calls to Mr Dymond “to press that”, with attempts made to contact Ms Callaghan when they were unable to get through to Mr Dymond.
Ms Callaghan agreed that that was the case.
However, earlier in her evidence, Ms Callaghan was asked if she was given any support from ITV after the show. She said: “No, not that I can remember, no. Obviously we got this aftercare and they talk to you and that’s about it really.”
‘I failed because I lied about my past’: Inquest hears extracts of Dymond’s note to ex
15:50
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond told his ex-fiancee he failed the lie detector test on the Jeremy Kyle Show because he “lied about my past”, according to extracts read out from a note he left for Jane Callaghan.
Mr Dymond said he “pushed and pushed” to appear on the ITV show to “prove” that he had always been faithful to Ms Callaghan, the inquest into his death heard on Tuesday.
Extracts from a note he left for Ms Callaghan were read aloud in court in which Mr Dymond said: “I pushed and pushed for the Jeremy Kyle Show to prove to Jane I never ever did (cheat on her).
“But it all went wrong.
“I failed because I lied about my past.
“Now I have lost you forever.”
Ms Callaghan wiped her eyes with a tissue in the witness box.
Ex does not remember ITV discussing accuracy of lie detector test, inquest hears
15:40
Tara Cobham
Jane Callaghan has said she does not remember anyone at ITV discussing the accuracy of the lie detector test with her before Steve Dymond took one for the Jeremy Kyle Show.
However, Ms Callaghan said a member of staff at the broadcaster did tell her after her ex-fiancee Mr Dymond appeared on the show that “they weren’t accurate”.
She told the inquest into his death on Tuesday that she initially believed the lie detector test was 100 per cent reliable and accurate but later changed her mind.
Dymond asked to speak with ex-fiancee immediately after show, inquest hears
15:34
Tara Cobham
The court heard Mr Dymond asked to speak with Ms Callaghan immediately after the show while they were still at the studio.
“He was just saying, begging me saying it was wrong it’s not right, it’s not the truth, it’s wrong, it’s wrong,” Ms Callaghan said.
She added that the pair left the studio separately and that later Mr Dymond continued to protest his innocence, saying: “He just kept saying that it was wrong, the lie detector was wrong.
“He was speaking to his brother on his phone and he just kept saying ‘it’s all wrong, it’s all wrong’, and then he just left.”
“I wasn’t communicating with him really,” she went on. “After that I just wanted him out of my life.”
Kyle was horrible and rude to guest, ex tells inquest
15:32
Alex Ross
Jeremy Kyle was rude and horrible to the guest who died of suspected suicide in the days after appearing on the host’s ITV show, an inquest has heard.
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan was asked if she had any concerns over Mr Kyle’s behaviour to Mr Dymond when he appeared on the presenter’s show.
Ms Callaghan told the hearing: “Jeremy was a bit rude to Steve… about didn’t trust him with a chocolate button and this was before the results. So yeah he didn’t know Steve, didn’t know nothing about him.”
She added: “He was a bit horrible.”
Dymond ‘got doctors’ note confirming he wasn’t taking anti-depressants’ before going on ITV show
15:13
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond got a note from his GP confirming he was no longer being prescribed anti-depressant medications before he went on the Jeremy Kyle Show, the inquest into his death has heard.
His ex-fiancee Jane Callahan told Tuesday’s hearing in Winchester that she accompanied him to the doctors. She said: “He was quite upset because he wanted to get on the show and they wouldn’t let him to go on there because he was on anti-depressants. So he went in there quite upset, saying, ‘I’m not going to take them.’ So the doctor gave him a note.”
Ms Callahan did add that there were periods when Mr Dymond did not take the anti-depressants that he was being prescribed.
She also said that he had been prescribed morphine for his knee pain, which he similary did not always take.
Dymond also ‘wanted closure’ from going on ITV show
15:00
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee has said he also “wanted closure” from his appearance on the Jeremy Kyle Show, an inquest into the 63-year-old’s death has heard.
Jane Callahan previously told the hearing she too hoped for closure amid fears Mr Dymond had cheated on her.
Speaking of Mr Dymond, Jane Callahan told Winchester Coroners’ Court: “He was very excited to go on there because he wanted closure – he wanted me to know he had lied a lot, but he hadn’t cheated on me. Then we can get on with our lives.”
Ex-fiancee hoped for ‘closure’ through Dymond’s appearance on Jeremy Kyle Show amid cheating fears
14:53
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee Jane Callahan has said she hoped Steve Dymond’s appearance on the Jeremy Kyle Show would be a way for her to get “closure” amid fears that he had cheated on her.
Ms Callahan told the inquest into his death that she suggested Mr Dymond appear on the ITV show as she had concerns he had cheated on her.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, she said: “It was to make sure he hadn’t cheated. I think you can get over a lot of things, but that, I don’t think you can – that for me would’ve been closure.”
Ex-fiancee believes Mr Dymond’s threats to end his life were due to their break-up
14:39
Tara Cobham
The inquest into Steve Dymond’s death has heard he made “threats to end his life” in the wake of his break-up with his ex-fiancee Jane Callahan.
Among the messages was one Mr Dymond sent in March 2019, which the counsel to the inquest read out. Rachel Spearing said the message read that he “wants to be dead.”
Ms Callahan told the hearing she believed these communications stemmed from the recent ending of their relationship, which was still “raw”.
Inquest shown Mr Dymond’s messages to ex-fiancee saying he ‘didn’t want to live anymore’
14:31
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee has been shown messages expressing that he “didn’t want to live anymore” at the inquest into his death.
The counsel to the inquest, Rachel Spearing, read out some of the messages that Mr Dymond sent to Jane Callahan in the wake of their relationship ending, which said, “He wants your help,” and “He can’t go on.”
Ms Callahan said she took this to mean that he “didn’t want to live anymore”.
She added that she had never been aware Mr Dymond had any mental health issues during their two-year relationship.
Dymond and ex-fiancee broke up in months before his death as ‘he lied a lot about his past’
14:26
Tara Cobham
Jane Callahan has said she and Steve Dymond broke up in the months before he died because she “found out he lied a lot about his past”, an inquest into his death has heard.
The pair were in a relationship for around two years, between May 2017 and February 2019, Winchester Coroners’ Court was told.
When the relationship ended, Ms Callahan said: “He was very upset, very angry at first.” He called her in tears frequently and sent her lots of messages, she added.
Mr Dymond’s ex-fiancee set to give evidence at inquest into his death
14:07
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s ex-fiancee is set to give evidence at the inquest into his death.
Shortly before his death, Mr Dymond had taken a lie detector test for The Jeremy Kyle Show after being accused of cheating on his former fiancee Jane Callaghan.
Brother had ‘never heard’ Mr Dymond ‘be so disturbed by anything before'
13:42
Tara Cobham
Leslie Dymond said he had “never heard” his brother “be so disturbed by anything before” when he recounted their conversations in the days after Steve Dymond appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Leslie said in a statement: “We did talk about what support Stephen was getting from the show and he told me he was supposed to get it but nothing had been arranged.
“I tried to convince Stephen to see his doctor or visit a counsellor as it was clear to me that he was not coping at all and although at times I thought I was getting somewhere, he clearly needed professional help, but the reality was this was a long bank holiday weekend.
“He told me he had contacted the show since the filming but that he had not heard anything about help being provided.
“I was horrified to hear what had happened to Stephen and I had never heard him talk this way or be so disturbed by anything before.
“He kept saying he could ‘not go on’ because of what had happened and although I spent ages trying to get him out of these thoughts, as did his son Carl, I knew when he did not reply to my messages that he had probably died.”
Guest could not escape jeering during show appearance, inquest told
13:21
Tom Barnes
Leslie Dymond recalled how his brother was “consumed” by what had happened when he appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, the inquest heard.
In a statement, Leslie said of his brother Steve: “He was mostly very distressed and consumed by what had happened on the show.
“He repeated that he had the result of a lie detector test which he did not agree with pushed in his face, and (was) called a traitor, with the presenter and audience all heckling him.
“Stephen told me he had been at the point of collapsing at the studio but he was still heckled.
“He mentioned trying to leave via a side door but that it was locked and so he could not escape the jeering.
“He told me he had been on his hands and knees as he thought he was going to pass out from fear and stress.
“It was like he had been brainwashed by all the aggressive behaviour and I kept trying to tell him it was rubbish and he should get on with his life, not letting this drag him down.
“He said he was worthless and that he could not face life any more.”
Dymond was ‘jeered and called a failure’, brother says
13:20
Tom Barnes
Steve Dymond told his brother how he was “jeered and called a failure” by TV host Jeremy Kyle, the inquest heard.
Leslie Dymond’s statement, which was read aloud by counsel during the inquest in Winchester, recalled phone conversations between the brothers after the show was filmed: “He was clearly very distressed and I was very surprised and worried when he told me he was in a taxi travelling home from the Jeremy Kyle Show having taken part, and that he had endured a terrible time.
“He sounded completely broken and frightened and told me he could not go on living.”
The court heard the brothers had multiple conversations over the next few days.
“He recalled the lie detector test he had done but was adamant that he had not cheated on his partner,” Leslie said.
“Stephen said he was thrown by questions about his past relationships as he did not expect them as that part of his life had never been disclosed to anyone else.
“He did tell me that the audience had booed him, that the presenter, Jeremy Kyle, had been in his face and that he had been followed when he left the stage with cameras and microphones being put in his face.
“He told me he was jeered and called a failure by the presenter.”
Mr Dymond’s son agrees he told father’s ex-fiancee ‘he was no good for her'
12:53
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s son has agreed that he told his father’s ex-fiancee “to get as far away from Steve as she could and that he was no good for her”.
Mr Dymond’s son, Carl Woolley, was the first witness to give evidence on the first day of his father’s inquest on Tuesday.
Speaking of Mr Dymond’s ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, Neil Sheldon KC, representing Jeremy Kyle, asked Mr Woolley, “You told her to get as far away from Steve as she could and that he was no good for her?”
Mr Woolley agreed that he had told Ms Callaghan this.
It came after Mr Dymond had taken a lie detector test for The Jeremy Kyle Show after being accused of cheating on Ms Callaghan.
Mr Woolley said he was “angry and upset”, after having had little contact with his father over the years and then reconnecting but over this situation.
Mr Sheldon also asked: “The reason your father gives for his distress is for what happened with Jane?”
Mr Woolley agreed but added that his father was also upset over “what happened on the show”.
Mr Dymond felt he was ‘thrown under a bus’ on Jeremy Kyle Show, inquest hears
12:18
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond felt he was “thrown under a bus” on The Jeremy Kyle Show, according to his son’s witness statement.
The inquest heard extracts from Carl Woolley’s witness statement in which he described how his father felt after appearing on the show.
“My father was crying as he told me he had been on The Jeremy Kyle Show and that he had been deemed a liar right from the start,” Mr Woolley said in his statement.
“He said he had been ‘taken for a mug’ and ‘pounced on’ by the presenter.
“I said to him at one point, ‘what did you expect going on a show like that?’ and he said to me that he hadn’t realised he would be made a mockery of.
“He told me he was ‘made out to be a baddie’… and that no one had given him any chance to put his point across, and that Jeremy Kyle was constantly ‘on him’.
“He said he felt he ‘was thrown under a bus’.”
The court heard Mr Woolley recorded in his statement that Mr Dymond told him he was booed on stage, and also that he was struggling to understand everything his father was saying on the phone to him “because he was crying and speaking so manically”.
‘Very upset’ guest called son up to six times a day after failing lie detector test
12:07
Tara Cobham
Carl Woolley said his father had continued to be “very upset” in the following days and would call him up to six times a day.
He told the inquest: “He was OK at some points but very down.”
He added that he tried to encourage his father to continue getting after-care support from ITV.
He said: “He told me he was getting support and after care from the (Jeremy Kyle) Show’s counsellors, I explained to him he needed to get in contact with them and keep ringing them to get the after care that he needed.
“He told me had rang and I said he needed to get some help – ‘Ring the show, ring the show’.”
Mr Woolley said that the last time his father tried to make contact was a missed call on his phone.
‘I never cheated on Jane’: Inquest hears extracts from note Mr Dymond left for son
12:06
Tara Cobham
The inquest heard extracts from a note which Steve Dymond left for his son, Carl Woolley.
Counsel to the inquest Rachel Spearing said: “In the bottom paragraph he says sorry to you, he asks you not to be mad with him and he knows that you will be but he doesn’t know what to say to you.
“He knows sorry isn’t enough and he says that: ‘I just don’t want to have to be here no more. My life feels empty without Jane. I just loved her so much’.”
Mr Dymond had taken a lie detector test for The Jeremy Kyle Show after being accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee Jane Callaghan, from Gosport.
Ms Spearing continued: “He expresses pride in you and comments upon your skills as a dad.
“He says: ‘I never ever cheated on Jane and that is what is tearing me to pieces and everyone thinks I am but I’m not a cheat. But I did tell her lies and I lied so much to Jane and that is why she didn’t believe me’.”
Son tells inquest Mr Dymond was ‘very upset’ after Jeremy Kyle Show recording
11:40
Tara Cobham
Steve Dymond’s son, Carl Woolley, told the inquest his father had been “very upset” after the recording of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
He said they had not been in recent contact before his uncle Leslie Dymond rang to say his father was “very down”.
Mr Woolley said he phoned his father who told him that Jeremy Kyle had “egged on” the audience to “boo him” and that he was “cast as the liar”.
Mr Woolley said his father told him that the “lie detector had cast him as a liar, he said to me he wasn’t lying”.
“He was telling the truth, he was not lying and telling the truth and asking why it said he had lied.”
He added that his father “was very upset saying he was being called a liar, everyone had jumped on him, (he was) not with it at all”.
When asked by counsel to the inquest Rachel Spearing who had “jumped on him”, Mr Woolley replied: “Jeremy Kyle had got the crowd to egg on, to boo at him and stuff, he was cast as the liar before he had even spoken.”
Mr Dymond described as ‘brave’ man by brother
11:38
Tara Cobham
The inquest heard a “pen portrait” of Steve Dymond written by his brother, Leslie Dymond, in which he described him as a “brave” man.
In the pen portrait, read aloud by counsel at the coroner’s court, Leslie told of how his brother joined the RNLI when he was young.
“Stephen was dedicated to the RNLI. He would never miss training,” he said.
Leslie described how his brother did “many gruelling tasks” for the institution to rescue people when they got into trouble at sea.
“It was not an easy job… but Stephen showed up every single time,” he said.
“He was so dedicated to his role.”
Leslie said there were times when his brother would be delayed returning to shore from a rescue because the sea was too rough.
“It was a dangerous job. They were very brave men and Stephen was one of them.”
Post-mortem examination found ‘potentially fatal level’ of morphine in blood
11:27
Tara Cobham
Rachel Spearing, counsel to the inquest, told the hearing a post-mortem examination found a “potentially fatal level” of morphine in Steve Dymond’s blood.
It also found evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy in his heart.
Ms Spearing said: “The conclusion was that both left ventricular hypertrophy and morphine levels are independently capable of causing Mr Dymond’s death but in this case a combination of the two factors had led to his death.”
Proceedings to look into events leading up to Mr Dymond’s death, court told
11:26
Tara Cobham
Rachel Spearing, counsel to the inquest, told the court the proceedings will look into the events between 14 March and 9 May 2019 leading up to Steve Dymond’s death.
The inquest will hear evidence in relation to Mr Dymond’s interactions with his GP, assessment of his participation on The Jeremy Kyle Show and the aftercare provided after the programme, she said.
She added that the inquest will hear about Mr Dymond’s “reaction to the lie detector test”, which he took on the ITV show.
Steve Dymond died of morphine overdose and heart problem, inquest hears
11:21
Tara Cobham
The inquest of Steve Dymond, a guest on the Jeremy Kyle Show, has heard he died of an overdose of morphine and a heart problem.
Resuming the hearing at Winchester Coroner’s Court, coroner Jason Pegg said the 63-year-old was found dead at his home in Grafton Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire, on May 9 2019.
Mr Pegg told the hearing: “At the heart of this inquest is the family of Steve Dymond.”
He added that the purpose of the hearing was not to “apportion civil or criminal liability” to any person involved.
