Steve Dymond inquest: Coroner rules 'no causal link' between Jeremy Kyle Show appearance and his death
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The 61-year-old died of an overdose seven days after appearing on the ITV show
There is “no causal link” between the appearance of Steve Dymond on The Jeremy Kyle Show and his death, an inquest has ruled.
The 61-year-old died of an overdose seven days after appearing on the ITV show.
During his evidence at the inquest, presenter Jeremy Kyle defended his presenting style, saying "it was direct, but it was empathetic, it was honest".
However, Dymond’s treatment by The Jeremy Kyle Show was ruled out as a contributory factor of his death.
Hampshire coroner, Jason Pegg said: "There is insufficient evidence for me to be satisfied that this was the direct cause of Steve’s death."
Pegg gave a conclusion of "suicide" at the inquest, adding that Dymond suffered from "mental distress" at the belief that his relationship had "irretrievably broken down".
He said: "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 programme where it had been suggested that the deceased had lied to his partner."
Dymond had left notes for this family and said: "There is nothing in those notes where Mr Dymond is critical of his treatment by the show."
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Pegg said: "These accounts are not supported with any independent expert evidence to evaluate the impact of his treatment on the show.
"It would be unsafe to infer these links in the absence of a clear and reliable causal connection.
"Steve Dymond’s participation in the show is one of a number of factors, and whilst possible that the manner experience added to his distress it is not probable."
Dymond from Portsmouth was "booed" by the audience after a lie detector test suggested he had been lying about having not cheated on his partner Jane Callaghan, the inquest heard.
However, the coroner rules that there is "insufficient evidence" to conclude whether or not Dymond lied during his lie detector test.
Pegg told the inquest: "The lie detector test recorded that Steve had provided an untruthful response to all questions asked of him.
"The expert evidence within the recording noted that a failure to one question may result in failure of them all.
"There is insufficient evidence for me to be satisfied whether or not Steve had indeed lied during the lie detector test."