David Staniforth, (pictured) now 57, had just gone through a bitter break-up from his wife of 26 years when he was emotionally blackmailed by his own daughter into appearing on the show
A former security guard whose life fell apart after he head-butted a love rival on the Jeremy Kyle Show has revealed the underhand tricks used by producers to bring out the very worst in their guests.
David Staniforth, now 57, had just gone through a bitter break-up from his wife of 26 years when he was emotionally blackmailed by his own daughter into appearing on the show.
It ended with him pleading guilty to common assault. The magistrates, who were shown footage from the show, said he had been, ‘highly provoked’ and that the producers of the show should be in the dock with him.
The show was referred to as a ‘human form of bear baiting’ by one of the magistrates who sentenced him.
Mr Staniforth, from Clowne, Derbyshire, a father-of-two, said he was never offered counselling after the show.
Speaking to MailOnline, he said: ‘My wife had left the family home after 26 years of marriage and our daughter, then in her early twenties, wanted answers.
‘Her mum had told her certain things about me and she didn’t know what to believe, so she rang up Jeremy Kyle.
‘I then got four or five phone calls from the show producers and I told them straight, ‘I don’t wish to wash my dirty laundry in public. I’m not interested.’.
‘But I was very vulnerable. I was still in love with Jennifer at the time and had just found out that, behind my back, she had been seeing a man called Larry Mahoney who was our lodger and a good friend of mine.
David Staniforth headbutted Larry Mahoney on the Jeremy Kyle Show. Mr Staniforth’s life fell apart after appearing on the show
Larry Mahoney (pictured left) and Jennifer Staniforth (pictured right) who also appeared on the show
‘The producers did not leave me alone. They rang me up and said, ‘Do you still love your wife? Would you do anything to get her back?
‘They told me they had been speaking to Jennifer and that she wanted to explain everything, to apologise to me and ask me to take her back. I just needed to go on the show.
‘I wasn’t stupid. I knew this wasn’t going to happen and in the end it was my daughter who talked me into doing it.
‘Her mum had said that I had been unfaithful which I knew I hadn’t. She said she wanted me to go on a take the lie detector test. She said Larry was going on and that if I didn’t she’d think I was less of a man.
‘I told her I would do it for her but not to hold me responsible for my actions.’
The build-up to the show involved guests being collected from their homes in taxis and taken to an assortment of salubrious hotels in Manchester, close to the Granada studios.
There they were asked to sign agreements that if there was any alcohol abuse, drug abuse or physical abuse of staff they would be sent home.
Hotel staff were notified of who was a Jeremy Kyle show guest and instructed not to serve them alcohol on the night before filming.
‘At the studio I was put into a room with a security guard outside it and left to wait. Eventually Jeremy Kyle came in and introduced himself.
‘He came across as the nicest guy in the world. He told me that he knew how difficult break-ups could be and that his only role was to air both sides of the story.
‘He seemed fine to me but as soon as the cameras started rolling he was a totally different person.
‘I later found out through my ex-wife that I was being totally manipulated. Unbeknown to me, Kyle had asked her how bad my temper was.
‘When she said it was very bad, they told her that they would like to prove this so my family and friends could see how bad I was.
‘They asked her how best to wind me up and she told them that I didn’t like being called names, I did not like being called a liar and that I didn’t like people getting into my face pointing their fingers.’
As soon as Mr Staniforth was put in front of the cameras, the goading started.
‘The first thing he said to me was, ‘Right then Davy boy’. I didn’t like that. It was so patronising and I felt like walking off straight away.
‘He heard what I had to say and just kept calling me a liar. Whatever I said, he would twist it to mean something else and I was getting so frustrated.
‘Then Jennifer came in and started telling more lies about me and then they brought in Larry.
‘Now he is not an aggressive man but they had wound him up and told him to walk over to me pointing his finger and calling me a liar.
‘I could not take it. This was a friend who had done what he had done with my wife and now he was coming at me calling me a liar.
‘It was too much. Jeremy Kyle had got just what he wanted. I head-butted him and blood started pouring from his nose. I have never head-butted anyone before or since.
‘People have asked me why the show’s bouncers were so far away from us and why they delayed their reaction. I guess it was to get better footage.’
Mr Staniforth never got to take the lie detector test. He went home and a few weeks later was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.
When it reached court, he pleaded guilty to common assault and was fined £320 by magistrates.
The show was called ‘human form of bear baiting’ by one of the magistrates who sentenced him.
‘They actually said that I had been badly provoked and that the show’s producers should be in the dock with me,’ said Mr Staniforth.
The consequences of his appearance in March 2007 did not end there. His temper loss meant he was stripped of his Security Industry licence so lost his job.
He then applied to be a bus driver but despite passing the practical and theory tests, was told his criminal record meant he was unsafe to work with the public.
The same thing happened when he applied for a taxi licence.
Mr Stanforth, who has worked in a warehouse since, added: ‘The effect it had on my life was very bad indeed. It cost me my job and my chance at doing two other jobs I had in mind.
‘Jeremy Kyle moulds people and gets into their heads. He gets them to say what he wants them to say and gets a kick out of manipulating people.
‘It gives him a sense of power. He finds out peoples’ weak points and exploits them. He simply pours petrol on any situation and sits back and watches the flames.
‘I feel very sorry for the family and friends of the man who has taken his own life and if it is proven that he did what he did because of the show then Kyle and his producers should be held responsible.
‘I don’t think it should continue. Kyle should find a proper job and stop winding up vulnerable people.
‘My wife and I used to watch it regularly, but now I can’t help thinking that those taking a delight in the misfortune of others must have something missing from their own lives.
‘The show is just all about enraging people – those taking part and those watching. It has definitely had its day.’