Jeremy Kyle Show guest ‘desperate’ after recording, says landlord at investigation

The inquest in Winchester heard that he was “booed” by the audience during filming after a lie detector test revealed that he had lied when he claimed he had not cheated on his partner Jane Callaghan.

The investigation revealed that Mr Dymond had called ITV 40 to 50 times in “desperate” attempts to become a guest on the show.

Landlord Michelle Thaxter told the hearing: “I have a connection with him. He came to stay with us for a few weeks. He was looking for a place to stay. He had split up with his partner and we had a room.”

He literally had nowhere else to go. He said he called his mother, but she didn't want anything to do with him. He was crying. I've never seen a man cry like that. He was so upset.

She said Mr Dymond called her after they advertised the room and said he was “just a really, really nice guy”.

Ms Thaxter added: “He said he had separated from his partner and was staying in a hotel, which was costing him a lot of money.”

When she read a text message from Mr Dymond during the hearing in which he explained that he had woken her and her son after an overdose on March 31, she said she was “shocked”, adding: “That did not happen.”

Ms Thaxter said he initially stayed at her home in Portsmouth for about six weeks before moving out after getting back together with Miss Callaghan.

She added: “He had previously mentioned that he was going to appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show and I told him I thought that was stupid because he might hear things he didn't want to hear, but that was none of my business.”

He said he wanted to appear on the show “because Jane thought he was sleeping or seeing another woman, but he wanted to prove it to her and tell her that wasn't the case. My opinion is that wasn't the case.”

“He really loved her, but he wanted to prove to her that he wasn't lying.”

She continued: “He just wanted to get back together with this woman. He loved her more than anything and idolized her.”

Ms Thaxter added: “He was not a happy person and he was not well, at times he could hardly walk.”

She said that after the show was taped, Mr Dymond was in a “distraught” state and asked to stay at her home again.

Ms Thaxter said: “He said he failed the lie detector test and he said he felt in the taxi that he was about to jump out of the taxi and take the (prescribed medication).”

“You can't say no to someone when they are so desperate.

“It scared me that someone could feel that, it was horrible.”

She added: “He was desperate, the man was devastated, he was crying.

“He literally had nowhere else to go. He said he called his mother, but she wanted nothing to do with him.

“He was crying. I've never seen a man cry like that. He was so upset.”

She said Mr Dymond told her the audience “booed” him, adding: “He said, 'Jeremy cornered me.' Very unpleasant.”

She said Mr Dymond told her he was upset about “how he was treated on the show. He said he had told too many lies”.

She added that she told him to focus on his son, whom he had just reconnected with and discovered had three grandchildren.

She continued: “It was all about Jane. 'I didn't lie.' He was just distraught. I've never seen anyone so upset about anything.

“A lot of it had to do with the show, with Jane, with his family. I think he had a lot of worries, that's life. He was a wreck.

“I think he had dug himself so deep into a hole in every way that he saw no way out.”

Mrs Thaxter said she last saw Mr Dymond on May 5 and was worried until her son looked into her lodger's room from the balcony and saw him and called her to come home.

She said: “Everything was going through my head when I opened the door and immediately saw that the man was dead.”

She said she then called the emergency services, who were also on site.

Ms Thaxter added that she was still receiving financial bills for Mr Dymond, adding: “I think he wanted to impress Jane and was living a life he couldn't afford.”

Mr Dymond was diagnosed with depressive disorder in 1995 and had overdosed four times – in January 1995, twice in December 2002 and in April 2005, the court heard.

It was also said that he attempted to harm himself in December 2002.

His first application to take part in the show was rejected because he had been diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication. Mr Dymond subsequently received a letter from his GP stating that he had not taken his medication and that his mood had improved.

He was subsequently assessed as suitable for the role by psychiatric nurse Steph MacDonald, who works for the series, as her assessment found that he was “not depressed”.

Mr Kyle defended his dealings with Mr Dymond during the recording, saying he tried to “de-escalate” the situation, adding that the selection of guests and their aftercare “were not my responsibility, I was the presenter”.

Sam Kendall, Ms Thaxter's son, said in a statement read at the hearing that Ms Callaghan separated from Mr Dymond because she “found images on his laptop or computer which made her believe he was cheating on her”.

Mr Kendall said Mr Dymond was “in a bad way” after the recording of the show, adding: “Steve told me he was absolutely mortified by the way Jeremy Kyle spoke to him on the show.”

“He said he was still in contact with the producers of the show and that since Steve had a bad cold, it was possible that the lie detector had given a false result.”

He added: 'I noticed that Steve's attitude towards Jane had changed when he heard her badmouthing him to his friends in Gosport.

“I know he was scared that people would find out he was on the Jeremy Kyle Show. Steve was adamant that he hadn't cheated on Jane and that he was going to prove it to her.

“Steve told me he was thinking about 'surrendering' or something like that.

“Steve didn't pursue it and we continued with a normal conversation. I thought it was just a figure of speech and had no suspicion that he would ever hurt himself.”

He added that Mr Dymond was “kind and caring and would not hurt anyone”.

Rachel Spearing, legal adviser to the inquiry (CTI), said the incident report prepared by Hampshire Police recorded that officers had been informed by paramedics that Mr Dymond had been “dead for approximately two days” when his body was found on May 9.

She added that “notes and letters were left for the family.”

The hearing will continue.