There have been calls to axe The Jeremy Kyle Show permanently after the series was suspended by ITV this week.
The day time programme typically airs from 9:25AM weekdays on ITV but Monday’s scheduled episode was cancelled.
In a statement released this morning, ITV said they had suspended The Jeremy Kyle Show until further notice after the death of a guest shortly after filming.
A spokesperson for the channel said: “Everyone at ITV and The Jeremy Kyle Show is shocked and saddened at the news of the death of a participant in the show a week after the recording of the episode they featured in and our thoughts are with their family and friends.
“ITV will not screen the episode in which they featured.
“Given the seriousness of this event, ITV has also decided to suspend both filming and broadcasting of The Jeremy Kyle Show with immediate effect in order to give it time to conduct a review of this episode of the show.”
It’s been reported by The Sun newspaper that a man took his own life after failing a lie detector test over cheating claims.
Charles Walker MP has led calls for the show not to return to air.
The Conservative MP for Broxbourne, who is also a member of the party parliamentary group on suicide and self-harm prevention, told BBC News: “It’s mental health awareness week and I have experience with mental health – I think it would be extremely sensible for ITV to say this has gone far enough, this is a great tragedy, we’re not going to broadcast this show any longer, it’s not fit for purpose in 2019 and we feel it’s part of our corporate responsibility.”
He praised show host Jeremy Kyle as a “talented man who can do other things and go on to make other TV shows” while branding The Jeremy Kyle Show programme “cruel”.
Labour MP for Sunderland Central, Julie Elliott, added: “I have grave concerns, and have had for some time, about the way shows like the Jeremy Kyle Show appear to exploit the most vulnerable in society.
But others who have appeared on the show – including its celebrity specials – have defended the programme.
Former Celebrity Big Brother housemate White Dee told BBC Radio 5 Live it “was a very positive experience”.
ITV told the BBC in response: “The Jeremy Kyle Show has significant and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors pre, during and post show which have been built up over 14 years, and there have been numerous positive outcomes from this, including parties who have resolved complex and long-standing personal problems.”
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The Jeremy Kyle Show was first broacast in 2005 on ITV and has since aired more than 3,100 episodes in its near 15 years on air.
Presented by Jeremy Kyle, the tabloid talk show format sees guests attempting to resolve personal issues often relating to relationships, family and addiction.
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