A man said to be the most hated guest ever on The Jeremy Kyle Show has told how he tried to kill himself after being publicly shamed on the ITV programme.
Dwayne Davison, 27, of Nottingham, revealed he has struggled for work and been mocked in the street following the ‘worst thing that has ever happened in my life’.
The guest said his treatment at the hands of the chat show’s producers and the subsequent YouTube clips of his appearance have caused him grief for five years.
Mr Davison spoke out following the death of show participant Steve Dymond, 63, who apparently took his own life one week after appearing on the programme.
Dwayne Davison, 27, of Nottingham, revealed appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2014
Mr Dymond took a lie detector test on May 2 to convince fiancée Jane Callaghan he had not been unfaithful, but failed and was found dead in Portsmouth on May 9.
Yesterday, Mr Davison told the Guardian: ‘I’ve had loads and loads of abuse and in 2018 I decided I’d had enough. My girlfriend had some toothache medication.
‘I took a load of it, and I can’t remember the rest. A few hours later my girlfriend came upstairs and she called the ambulance.’
He briefly stopped breathing but medics were able to revive him before it was too late. Mr Davison said: ‘At the hospital they said I would have died.
‘I know this is putting responsibility on other places but I 100 per cent put it on that show. That show has ruined my life. It’s evil.’
Steve Dymond (left) took a lie detector test on May 2 to convince fiancée Jane Callaghan (right) he had not been unfaithful, but failed and was found dead in Portsmouth on May 9
Mr Davison was in his early 20s and living in Nottingham when he became involved with the programme in 2014.
Mr Dymond apparently took his own life one week after appearing on the programme
He was in a relationship with an older woman and became certain she was cheating on him.
He sent a text message to the programme in the hope of a free lie detector test to set the record straight.
‘It’s the worst thing that has ever happened in my life,’ he said. ‘They put the spoon in and stirred around my whole life.’
Mr Davison said the video subsequently being uploaded to YouTube – which led to employers letting him go.
The video was viewed by millions and shared with captions describing him as the rudest and most hated guest in the show’s history.
He also claimed the show would intentionally provoke participants into causing offence.
Footage would be edited to cast them in an unflattering light and all subsequent aftercare by producers was undone by the final footage.
He also remarked on the speed he and his then-girlfriend were signed up after texting the programme.
Mr Dymond’s body was found on May 9 in a flat on this road in Portsmouth, pictured yesterday
A producer rang back and invited them to travel up to the show’s filming base in Salford.
News of Mr Dymond’s death prompted an outcry and ITV has been urged to end the confrontational programme for good
‘Within an hour there was a taxi at the door,’ he said. ‘You don’t have time to think about it or phone your family.
‘Once you’re at the hotel, you feel you have to do the show. My mum begged me not to go on.’
He also claimed not to have been questioned over mental health issues and signed a contract without having time to read it.
He claims to have been provoked by Kyle and producers, being warned ‘Jeremy hates people who don’t talk.’
‘When are they going to take it seriously?’ he said. ‘Is it going to take more people to die for them to think maybe we are ruining people’s lives?’
As for Mr Dymond, his son Carl Woolley, 39, said yesterday that his father had been ‘distraught’ over the breakdown of his relationship and hoped the show would help him ‘clear his name’.
News of Mr Dymond’s death prompted an outcry and ITV has been urged to end the confrontational programme for good.
The Jeremy Kyle Show has been on air since 2005 with more than 3,000 episodes broadcast
The Prime Minister’s spokesman described the incident as ‘deeply concerning’, while MPs on an influential Commons committee are due to discuss the case today.
The broadcaster’s chief executive, Dame Carolyn McCall, addressed the issue in an email to ITV staff.
‘This was a very difficult decision to make but we felt that it would be inappropriate to continue to broadcast the show when a participant on it has so recently died,’ she wrote.
‘This decision is not in any way a reflection on the show, but the best way we think we can protect the show and the production team from this reaction we expect to this death.’
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, or visit a local Samaritans branch. See samaritans.org
‘Jeremy Kyle Show left me inches from suicide’: Guest claims he was disowned by his family and almost made homeless after being falsely accused of theft on ITV programme
By JOSEPH CURTIS FOR MAILONLINE
Another Jeremy Kyle Show guest has slammed the programme claiming he considered killing himself after being disowned by his family and made homeless when he was ‘falsely accused of theft’.
Harry Henson, 30, appeared on the ITV show in 2015 and wanted to take a lie detector test to prove his innocence after being accused of stealing a set of golf clubs from his mother’s partner.
But Mr Henson, of Barnet, is adamant the test was wrong after it indicated he was the thief and said the stress made him ‘relapse into cocaine and cannabis’.
Producers of the show have said over the years that the test is not 100% accurate but Mr Henson claims the result made him ‘suicidal’ and sleeping on benches.
It comes after the suspected suicide of Steven Dymond, 63, who recorded a lie detector segment last week but was found dead at his home in Portsmouth days later.
Harry Henson, pictured, has slammed The Jeremy Kyle Show after claiming an appearance in 2015 left him feeling suicidal
Speaking about his experience, father-of-three Mr Henson told the Mirror: ‘It was distressing, I was crying most of the time. I even walked up to the train station and was standing there going, ‘I can’t f***ing do this anymore, it’s a joke’.
‘I had a really bad experience. I’m glad they can actually see it now for what it is. It’s meant to be a talk show, it’s not meant to bring vulnerable people there and take the p*** out of them and then tell them to bugger off home after ruining your life.
Mr Henson has also added to criticism of the aftercare service provided by the show, with Mr Dymond’s landlady claiming the producers didn’t try to contact him until it was too late.
He said: ‘Pretty much the care after that was rubbish – it felt like I got abused in a way, like I was taken the p*** out of.’
Mr Henson, pictured centre on the show, took a lie detector test which suggested he stole golf clubs from his mother’s partner, which he denied. He said the result was false and led to his family disowning him
Mr Henson added he was then ‘shoved in a taxi’ and left to deal with four panic attacks outside ITV Studios on his own, and later was offered ’10 minutes with a psychologist’.
He added he felt ‘very sorry’ for Mr Dymond and claims the programme ‘ruins lives’.
Mr Henson said his family apologised to him after the golf clubs were found a few months later, but that it has taken four years to completely repair the wounds between them.
In a statement, ITV defended its aftercare procedures and said it maintained its duty of care towards guests.
The father-of-three, pictured on the show in 2015, said the programme ‘ruins lives’
The statement said: ‘ITV has many years experience of broadcasting and creating programmes featuring members of the public and each of our productions has duty of care measures in place for contributors.
‘These will be dependent on the type of show and will be proportionate for the level of activity of each contributor and upon the individual. All of our processes are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are fit for purpose in an ever changing landscape.
‘In the case of The Jeremy Kyle Show, the programme has significant and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors pre, during and post show which have been built up over 14 years, and there have been numerous positive outcomes from this, including people who have resolved complex and long-standing personal problems.
‘Prior to the show a comprehensive assessment is carried out by the guest welfare team on all potential contributors. The guest welfare team consists of four members of staff, one consultant psychotherapist and three mental health nurses.
Mr Henson, right, said it has taken him years to reforge relationships with his family, including brother Charlie, left
‘The guests are interviewed by guest welfare face to face at studios and prior to filming. Throughout filming the participants are supported by the guest welfare team in the studios during the recording phase of their show. After filming has ended all guests are seen by a member of the guest welfare team to ensure they are feeling calm and emotionally settled before any participant leaves to travel home.
Mr Henson, pictured, claimed the aftercare was poor and said he was ‘put in a taxi’ and offered ’10 minutes with a psychologist’
‘An evaluation of their needs is also carried out at this time and should they require any ongoing service regarding the problem they discussed on the show then appropriate solutions are found for them. This could include residential rehabilitation, counselling, anger management, family mediation, child access mediation or couple counselling for example.
‘The day after recording of the show the participant will be contacted by production to carry out a welfare check and provide details of the services that have been sourced for them. The production team keep in touch with the participants in the days between recording and transmission and participants are given a production mobile contact number should they need to contact the show at any point following transmission.
‘To continue best practice, we regularly review our processes.
‘As we have said, 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. We will not screen the episode in which they featured.
‘Given the seriousness of this event, 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 episode of the show, and we cannot comment further until this review is completed.’
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, or visit a local Samaritans branch. See samaritans.org
Gulf War veteran says he considered suicide after he was branded ‘a disgrace’ in ‘kangaroo court’ Jeremy Kyle Show he was told would be a reunion with his estranged daughter
A Gulf War veteran suffering from PTSD says he considered suicide after being ‘made to feel like a scumbag’ on the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Fergus Kenny, 49, agreed to go on the ITV programme in 2016 after his estranged daughter Hayleigh said she would take part in a reunion show.
He turned up at the studio expecting an emotional reunion with his daughter but says it quickly descended into a ‘kangaroo court’ where the host accused him of abandoning his family.
Mr Kenny, who served during the Gulf War and in Iraq and Bosnia, was mercilessly booed and branded a ‘disgrace by the presenter.
The father-of-three says he felt extremely low after going on the show and considered taking his own life.
He wants to share his story following the death of Steven Dymond – 10 days after he appeared on Jeremy Kyle.
Mr Dymond failed a lie detector test on the show and seemingly took his own life shortly after the episode was filmed.
Fergus Kenny, 49, appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show in 2016 to be reunited with his then 19-year-old daughter Hayleigh who he hadn’t seen in years because of his Army career
ITV has now cancelled the daytime talks how until a full investigation is carried out.
Mr Kenny, from Coalville, Leicestershire, said: ‘If it hadn’t been for my kids I would have killed myself. It was that bad.
‘I had been led to believe by the producers that it was going to be a reunion show with my daughter but it turned into a kangaroo court.
‘I felt like I was having my whole character assassinated and was being made to look like a scumbag. It was a set up.
‘After the show ended I felt extremely low. I didn’t know at the time but I was actually suffering from PTSD from my time in the military.
The father-of-three (pictured today) who now lives in Coalville, Leicestershire, says he felt suicidal after being on TV
‘If I had known then what I know now I would never have agreed to go on the show.
‘I’m afraid I’m not surprised someone has died in an apparent suicide. The show makes entertainment out of people’s misery and heartache.
‘I had problems and was in a marriage which was not ideal but I certainly didn’t deserve the treatment I got on the show.’
On the show, Mr Kenny met up with his then 19-year-old daughter Hayleigh after years apart as he pursued his military career.
Following the harrowing experience he split up with his wife Crissy, who also blamed Kyle for ‘ruining her marriage’.
Mr Kenny (pictured in Basra in 2006), who served during the Gulf War and in Iraq and Bosnia, was mercilessly booed and branded a ‘disgrace by Jeremy Kyle when he went on his show in 2016
She claims he came back home a ‘different person’
Her ex-husband was a corporal in the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars and served 15 years, including fighting in Iraq in 2006.
Following the harrowing experience he split up with his wife Crissy (pictured), who also blamed Kyle for ‘ruining her marriage’
He was injured in the conflict and left the military in 2007 after spending 18 months in rehabilitation.
He said: ‘I saw the kids twice in the ten years between finishing in Iraq and going on Jeremy Kyle.
‘Once I went on holiday with them to Wales and another I took the twins to the Army v Navy rugby game at Twickenham. We had the occasional text message and phone call.’
He was contacted by the show’s producers after Hayleigh agreed to appear for a reunion show.
But Kyle demanded to know: ‘Why didn’t you see your kid? Why didn’t you cry yourself to sleep every night?
‘Look at your daughter, you have failed her. You don’t deserve your daughter, pal.’
Mr Kenny said: ‘I didn’t realise what was going on with the show. It was supposed to be a family reunion.
Mr Kenny (pictured on the programme in 2016) wants to share his story following the death of Steven Dymond – 10 days after he appeared on Jeremy Kyle
‘Jeremy Kyle absolutely ripped me apart. He said ‘You cannot use the Army as an excuse’.
Steven Dymond died 10 days after appearing on Jeremy Kyle
‘He did not even consider I might have mental health issues, he just tried to get me into a fight.
‘When the show was over I was promised after care but I got nothing.
‘I was just put in a room with my daughter and we managed to fix things.
‘After the show I just wanted the ground to swallow me up. If it wasn’t for my kids I would have ended it.
‘I am relieved the show has been taken off the air and I hope it never comes back.
‘Mental health is a serious subject and this show exploits the most vulnerable.’
Months after the show aired, Mr Kenny was officially diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Now he volunteers for the charity Once, We Were Soldiers, which helps veterans who become homeless.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, or visit a local Samaritans branch. See samaritans.org
Former security guard whose life fell apart after head-butting a love rival on the Jeremy Kyle show in what a judge blasted as ‘human bear baiting’ reveals ‘underhand tricks’ producers used to wind him up
By ROSS SLATER FOR MAILONLINE
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.
David Staniforth headbutted Larry Mahoney on the Jeremy Kyle Show. Mr Staniforth’s life fell apart after appearing on the show
‘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.
‘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.’
Larry Mahoney (pictured left) and Jennifer Staniforth (pictured right) who also appeared on the show
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.’