Jeremy Kyle has turned down a request to appear before a committee of MPs as part of an inquiry into reality TV.
Senior executives from the Jeremy Kyle Show are to appear in front of MPs next week, but representatives of Mr Kyle say he will not be giving evidence.
The inquiry by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee comes following the death of Steve Dymond, a guest on the now-scrapped ITV show hosted by Kyle. Mr Dymond’s body was found at his home on 9 May, shortly after filming for the reality TV programme.
The inquiry by the DCMS is set to invite a range of former participants and programme makers of reality TV shows to give evidence in the coming months. The shows are beginning to face increased scrutiny over the duty of care to participants. Two participants of the show Love Island, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis took their own lives in the last year and these events have caused calls for a review into reality TV shows.
On 25 June, the DCMS committee will hear from ITV’s chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette and chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall.
The chair of the committee, Damian Collins said “We have sent an invitation to Mr Kyle through his representatives and we have received word back from them that he has declined to appear in front of the committee on Tuesday next week.” He added, the committee will pursue the matter “to see if we can find a date when he will appear or to understand fully the reasons why he is not able to appear”.
