Peter Andre blasts ITV for making ‘scapegoat’ of Jeremy Kyle after his talk show was axed following guest’s death

• Jeremy Kyle, 56, lost his daytime show following participant’s suspected suicide 
• Steven Dymond, 63, was found dead week appearance on the show in 2019 
• Took lie-detector test to convince fiancée he hadn’t been unfaithful but failed 
• For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123, or go to samaritans.org 

Peter Andre has hit out at ITV for making a ‘scapegoat’ of Jeremy Kyle after his television talk show was axed.

The presenter, 56, lost his job as the host of The Jeremy Kyle Show following the suspected suicide of Steve Dymond after he filmed an episode of the programme.

The late Mr Dymond is believed to have killed himself less than a week after failing a lie detector test while filming an episode of the show. That show was not broadcast. 

Strong opinion: Peter Andre, 48, has hit out at ITV for making a ‘scapegoat’ of Jeremy Kyle, 56, after his talk show was axed following the alleged suicide of series guest Steve Dymond

Singer Peter, 48, believes ITV should have done more to ‘protect’ Jeremy, telling OK! magazine: ‘In my opinion, the network should have protected him as he was made a scapegoat when one of the guests allegedly took his own life.’ 

He added that he didn’t like the way Jeremy was ‘personally attacked and blamed at the time’.

A TV source told the MailOnline: ‘ITV have supported Jeremy and remained in contact with him throughout.’

Axed: The presenter  lost his job as the host of The Jeremy Kyle Show following the alleged suicide of Steve Dymond after he filmed an episode of the programme

Reality star Peter’s comments come after Jeremy said he couldn’t leave the house ‘or even open the curtains’ after being left ‘completely devastated’ at losing his job.  

Breaking his silence on the axing earlier this month, Jeremy told The Sun he felt ‘awful’ at being ‘scapegoated’ over the death, saying that accusations ‘often seemed to be levelled only at me’.  

‘I’ve felt hunted and made out to be responsible for everything that ever took place around that show. But I was just the face of it,’ he added.

Tragedy: The show was axed in May 2019 after Steven Dymond, 63, is believed to have killed himself less than a week after failing a lie detector test while filming an episode of the show

After losing his job on The Jeremy Kyle Show, which had been running since 2005, the star became depressed and ‘completely demotivated’.

‘Every ounce of energy seemed to have gone and I just couldn’t bring myself to leave the house or even open the curtains.  

‘I used to think “get a grip” when some celebrities talked about those sort of problems. But suddenly I realised first-hand you can’t always do that, I never thought they would affect me like they did.’

Troubles: Jeremy revealed that he spiralled into depression and had to take pills for anxiety after his show was cancelled following a guest’s death

Prior to the show’s cancellation Kyle had already suffered a series of professional and personal setbacks.  

In 2012 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, before a year later losing his US version of the show. He had also gone through a very public divorce in 2016, something which was often picked upon by guests looking to hit back at Kyle’s personal questioning.

It was however, he says, his fiancee Vicky Burton who encouraged him to see a doctor after the axing and he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder.

The diagnosis, Kyle believes, is what helped him to get back up and ‘start to rebuild things’.  

Mr Dymond, a construction worker, died from a morphine overdose days after filming his episode on the show. He had also been suffering from an underlying heart problem.

He applied to be on the show to prove he had not cheated on his ex — but failed a lie-detector test.

Family members have said that the events on the show were too much for him to cope with.

An inquest into the death is still ongoing.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123, or visit www.samaritans.org

Support system: Jeremy’s fiancee Vicky Burton who encouraged him to see a doctor after the axing and he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder (pictured 2019)

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