Anonymous written evidence

 

 

  1. As a member of the viewing public, I have complained to Ofcom and ITV about the Jeremy Kyle Show several times over the past few years. I enclose some of the individual complaints about specific shows, (Paragraphs 8-17), with transmission dates (either exact or approximate) where possible.   Most of these complaints relate to bullying of vulnerable people and irresponsible/dangerous/misleading use of the lie detector, specifically:

 

  1. Putting guests at risk by carrying out lie detector tests where there is clearly a danger of violent consequences.   On many occasions, women in volatile relationships have been pressured into taking the lie detector test by controlling and aggressive male partners, who want to find out if their girlfriends have been unfaithful.    When the women fail the test, they are vilified, shouted at and verbally abused, both by their partners and by Jeremy Kyle himself, who calls the women insulting names and further fuels the rage of the angry male partner.    At no point is there ever any acknowledgement that the test is unreliable.   These women are clearly being put at risk of dangerous repercussions from their angry partners after the show.

 

  1. Lack of responsibility from the Aftercare team, who stand by and watch without intervening as Jeremy Kyle shouts insults and taunts at fragile and distressed people, especially after lie detector tests, which are treated as if they were entirely reliable.

 

  1. Irresponsible use of security guards to facilitate Jeremy Kyle’s invading of guests’ personal space.   The security guards trap the guests on the spot and restrict their movements, so they are unable to protect themselves or get away from Jeremy Kyle as he pushes his face inches from theirs and shouts at them at very close proximity.   When they try to move away, the security guard blocks their path and “cages” them with his arms, making it impossible for them to escape, and allowing Jeremy to continue invading their space.

 

  1. Misrepresentation of the lie detector test’s accuracy with subtly misleading language.   Jeremy Kyle frequently used phrases like “I stand by that test one million per cent”, or “You’re a liar, FACT.”  (It should also be noted that, in the first few years of the show, Jeremy Kyle regularly claimed that the lie detector was 96% accurate.  During this period, anyone challenging the test result would be taunted with the sarcastic question: “So, I suppose you’re going to say that you’re one of the four per cent?”  This became something of a catchphrase over several years, and it clearly had a lasting impact on people’s perception of the test’s reliability.  After this 96% claim was dropped, the accuracy rate of the test was no longer mentioned at all.   Sometimes guests would indicate that they believed the test “can’t be wrong”;  when guests expressed this belief, Jeremy Kyle would simply remain silent instead of correcting them.

 

  1. On many occasions, when giving the lie detector result, Jeremy Kyle would shout: “This test says you’re a dirty little liar.”   He also regularly dehumanised the guests who failed the test by referring to them as “it”, and frequently called upon his security guard to physically manhandle them, saying: “Pick this piece of rubbish up and throw it out of my studio”.  

 

  1. Some specific examples of the show’s dangerous approach to participants’ safety and welfare:

 

  1. 15th February 2019,  (Approx transmission date)

 

  1. A female guest was subjected to prolonged bullying and cruelty from Jeremy Kyle, despite being obviously distressed and appearing to become increasingly unwell.    After she failed a lie detector test,  the woman became very upset and asked for water, as she was suffering from a dry throat.  Initially Jeremy Kyle refused this request, and he even made fun of her need for water.   At one point she showed signs of nausea, and Jeremy jeered at her, again mocking her discomfort.   The woman was belittled and vilified both by Jeremy himself and also by her increasingly aggressive male partner.  (All this happened as a result of a failed lie detector test;  at no point did Jeremy Kyle or his team acknowledge that the test is not reliable.)   This deeply distressed guest was put in a vulnerable position by the show’s deliberate creation of an angry confrontation with her partner.

 

  1.                    1st May 2019 ITV1 09.25

 

A 59-year old woman was humiliated, with embarrassing personal details of gynaecological issues.   This was treated as a huge joke by both Jeremy and the audience.   The woman failed a lie detector test, resulting in an explosive outburst from her husband, who became alarmingly volatile and lunged towards her, shouting “LIAR!” in her face.    This angry outburst was shown in the preview “teaser” clip at the start of the show, effectively picking out this moment of aggression as a “highlight”.   The lie detector test result was treated as if it were infallible.   Jeremy Kyle said to the woman’s 24-year-old daughter:  “The fact is, your mother’s a liar.”

 

  1.                    ITV1, 7th and 8th May 2019 09.25 

 

Over the course of two consecutive shows, a young mother was subjected to prolonged shouting, pressure, manipulation and mental abuse.    She was bullied into taking a lie detector test despite firmly and repeatedly protesting that she was unwilling to do so.   She appeared to be afraid of the possible repercussions, as she indicated that her husband was prone to angry outbursts.   Eventually she was manipulated into taking the lie detector test, which she failed.   Jeremy Kyle shouted abuse at her, called her names and invaded her personal space, while the audience booed and jeered at her.    Jeremy Kyle pushed his face nose-to-nose with hers and insulted her. He mocked her when she protested that the test was wrong, and he called her a "lazy mare" despite the fact that she was a full-time mother to 4 children. At no point did he acknowledge that the lie detector test result was unreliable.

 

  1.                     10 Jul 2015 14:40, ITV2   Aggressive and bullying behaviour by presenter, Irresponsible and misleading use of lie detector

    On several occasions during this episode, Jeremy Kyle was aggressive and verbally abusive towards guests both male and female, pushing his face towards theirs while shouting and calling them names.   A lie detector test was used on a young man without making it clear that this test is not reliable.   The young man failed the lie detector and was subjected to extensive abuse and aggression from his family, and also from the presenter.  The accuracy percentage of the test was never referred to.  

 

  1.                     15th Oct 2015 09:25,   ITV1: Tasteless exploitation of recently deceased ex-guest. Urn of ashes brought into studio and treated as a joke

    A former guest had recently died, and her warring relatives returned to the show to continue arguing.   The deceased lady’s daughter-in-law brought an urn containing her ashes;  this urn was used to taunt and goad the daughter of the deceased.   The audience were seen grimacing and giggling as the woman produced the urn of ashes.  Jeremy was cruel to the dead woman’s grieving daughter, who was clearly in a great deal of emotional distress.   Jeremy Kyle even played it for laughs at one point, pulling faces and joking about the "bag of ashes" being carried around the studio.   The audience could be seen and heard laughing in response.   This tasteless show exploited the very recent and raw grief of the bereaved.  The involvement of the urn of ashes was massively disrespectful to the deceased lady, and also to any of her relatives who might have been watching. 

 

  1.                     Other relevant incidents (I don’t have the transmission dates for these, but all were broadcast within the past few years):-

 

  1.                     A very young girl was given the results of an STI test on the show.   She was found to have gonorrhoea.   The audience laughed.

 

  1.                     On a couple of occasions, Jeremy Kyle treated disabled guests’ mobility aids as if they were toys or props for his comedy:  for example, he would jump on the back of mobility scooters, or ride them around the studio himself to get a laugh from the audience.

 

  1.                     A very young woman was pressured into taking a lie detector test by her extremely domineering, controlling boyfriend and his aggressive family.  When she failed the test, it emerged that she was on medication for anxiety, (which would affect the test result) but her boyfriend had pressured her into stopping her medication and concealing her medical situation from the lie detector expert, as this would have precluded her from taking the test.   When this fact about the medication was brought to light, Jeremy Kyle ignored the boyfriend’s controlling behaviour and instead blamed the girl herself, who left the stage in a deeply distressed state.   She was pursued offstage by Jeremy Kyle, and also by her aggressive boyfriend and his entire family, who all cornered her in a backstage area.   She huddled in a corner, being bullied and hectored over several minutes by the entire group of people, despite her obvious distress.   This was a dangerous mistreatment of a young girl with anxiety issues who was clearly medically and mentally fragile.

 

  1.                    While I do not have specific transmission dates for all the above incidents, they all occurred in shows broadcast over the past few years.   I would therefore strongly urge that all the Jeremy Kyle Shows broadcast in the past few years should be closely looked at by the committee, as the incidents listed above are only a very small—but entirely representative—sample of an established pattern that has been regularly happening on this show over many years.    

 

 

 

July 2019