A former guest on ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ has claimed the show left him contemplating suicide.
The controversial daytime talk show was axed in May following the death of guest Steve Dymond – who allegedly took his own life around a week after failing a lie detector test on the programme – and now fellow guest Dwayne Davidson has admitted he too battled with suicidal thoughts after appearing on the show in 2016, where he was accused of cheating on his girlfriend.
Dwayne was giving evidence at a reality TV probe launched following the death of Steve – as well as ‘Love Island’ stars Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon – and said he still "wishes [he] could die".
He told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee: "I just think – and I still feel now – I wish I could die … because I can’t control this Jeremy Kyle thing.
"Even today it has ruined my life, I still feel like I’ve got the weight around my shoulders. It’s taken away my voice completely. I’m just the most hated guy."
Dwayne alleges he can no longer get work as a plumber because of his reputation on the show, and claimed the only aftercare he received was a "one-minute" phone call.
And Robert Gregory – who also appeared on the ITV show – also gave evidence to MPs, saying he felt "crucified" the show, which he claims had "no aftercare".
Robert was accused of abandoning a son he had no knowledge of when he appeared on the show, and told MPs: "They crucified me. They absolutely ripped me apart. The programme was basically a character assassination. There is no aftercare, it doesn’t exist."
The evidence given by the ‘Jeremy Kyle Show’ guests comes after ‘Love Island’ stars Marcel Somerville and Yewande Biala also gave evidence to the committee about the ITV2 show.
Marcel admitted he struggled with life outside of the villa, as he said: "You are in the spotlight. No matter what you do, anything that happens there is going to be a story about it.
"Public break-ups – everything that happens. You are like, ‘this is the worst period of my life’. That was the worst period of doing ‘Love Island’."