The Jeremy Kyle Show

British tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle
the U. S. version

The Jeremy Kyle Show is a British tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle and produced by ITV Studios. It premiered on the ITV network on 4 July 2005 and ran for seventeen series until its cancellation on 10 May 2019. It was the most popular programme in ITV's daytime schedule, broadcast on weekday mornings and reaching an audience of one million. It replaced the chat show Trisha following its move to Channel 5 in 2004. The show was based on confrontations in which guests attempt to resolve personal problems, often related to family and romantic relationships, sex and addiction. It featured psychotherapist Graham Stanier, On 15 May 2019, the programme was being taken off the air until further notice, following the suspected suicide of a guest, whose appearance had been filmed in the week before but not aired.

In late 2004, Trisha Goddard left from ITV to move her talk show to Channel 5. Radio broadcaster Jeremy Kyle was drafted in to host a talk show, The Jeremy Kyle Show, which was first broadcast on 4 July 2005 in ITV's weekday 9:25am slot. In 2007, the show was nominated for the "Most Popular Factual Programme" award at the 13th National Television Awards, although lost in that category to Top Gear.

The guests were, according to the New Statesman, "poor, mainly white, always working class families" who were concerned about the personal problems of someone they knew. In the opinion of Anoosh Chakelian in the same publication, it curated "a morbidly chaotic picture of a British underclass – for those watching at home to scoff and sneer at – with the veneer of helping them". In a 2007 article for The Independent, the journalist Paul Vallely referred to Kyle treating his guests "with a false mateyness, calling them 'babe', 'sweet' or 'Davey boy'". A former producer has alleged that the show's guests had mental health problems; the producer commented anonymously that the guests were normally "at the very least depressed" and that "if they truly screened for mental health issues, there would be no one on that show". Episodes featured guests discussing personal problems, with Kyle mediating between involved parties. Common problems shown in episodes included uncertainty over the biological father of a baby, a family member committing petty theft, infidelity, and addiction to drugs. Frequently, when friends or relatives of the show's guests entered the stage having heard backstage what had been said, strong language and fights would break out, with the former resulting in the sound being dipped. The latter was similarly not shown; instead, the camera gave a view of the audience and Kyle until his security team had restored order. This led to the show being compared, by a former producer, with Roman gladiatorial combat in its brutality. As the talk show's host, Kyle was known to react with hostility and anger towards those whom he saw as having acted improperly. Paul Vallely related an intervention by Kyle in 2007: "'I don't mean to be judgemental,' he adjudges. 'I'm just trying to help you in the little time I've got, but you two are both as bad as each other.' Minutes later he turns to one of them. 'Do something about your anger issues,' he says, evidently not realising he too is shouting". Critics, however, have said that Kyle's reactions and comments are repetitive and well worn, such as "Put something on the end of it!" in the context of birth control, or his annoyance at unemployed fathers. However, the validity of polygraph tests have been seriously questioned by researchers to the point that they are rarely cited as a source of legal evidence in countries such as the United States, and its use on the show has been criticised, in spite of the show asserting the results to be infallible. At one point, to prove the legitimacy of the "lie detector" test, Jeremy Kyle performed a live on stage test with the question, "Are you, or have you ever been, a llama?" to which he replied yes, which was identified as a lie. Carole Cadwalladr wrote in The Observer in 2008: "Kyle regularly claims the lie detector is 96 per cent accurate, whereas a 1997 survey of 421 psychologists estimated it to be 61 per cent. Or not much better than chance." In a parliamentary inquiry, the producers at the time of cancellation said that they did not know how accurate the tests were.

By May 2019, the programme had directly led to two court cases related to assault and leading to convictions. An ITV spokeswoman responded in defence that "we take the safety and well being of studio guests extremely seriously. It is made clear to all guests prior to going into the studio that no violence is ever tolerated." In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Kyle responded by saying: "Sometimes people need to be stripped bare before they can be helped." An appearance on Kyle's programme by a couple on the issue of alleged infidelity led to a man's assault of his female partner and criminal charges being made against him. The woman sustained a "shattered eye socket and cheekbone and bite marks". At Peterborough Crown Court in July 2009, Judge Sean Enright jailed the man for two years after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm. The judge said "there is plainly an element of cruelty and exploitation in what takes place" on Kyle's programme, and that the couple "must have both suffered considerable mortification and embarrassment". Grant Cunningham, the head of ITV's factual programming, expressed surprise at the judge's comments, as the judge had not seen the programme, and refuted his claims. Stanier told The Observer that he was "immensely proud" of the help provided to the show's guests, with "full shows of people coming back on the programme who have been successful in overcoming drug, alcohol or relationship problems, through the care that we have provided". ITV has denied these charges, claiming that "two of the guests were given alcohol to counteract withdrawal symptoms while the third had not mentioned a drink problem", that "guests are not deliberately agitated before appearing", and that the show provided to its guests "proper, professional help, funded by the programme, which has really and undeniably helped hundreds of people". It has also been alleged by a former guest on the show that due to Ofcom rules, they were forced to change out of a jumper with a branded logo into a tracksuit before being vilified by Kyle for their clothing choice. It has been alleged, by Zoe Williams of The Guardian and others, that guests were separated prior to the show and assigned separate researchers who would "wind up" guests in order to bring about a reaction when they appeared together during the programme's recording.

The Jeremy Kyle Show received extreme critical disdain throughout its run. In The Observer, Carole Cadwalladr was of the opinion that "the show is built around creating a spectacle out of the damaged fragments of people's lives" and summarised it as an "explosive spectacle of anger, vitriol and confrontation". Of Kyle, Cadwalladr said that "Some of his opinions are so well worn they're almost catchphrases" and wrote in 2008 that the show was "more like a witchcraft trial. Where the judge and jury is Jeremy Kyle". Cadwalladr further criticised the "lie detector" as "the modern equivalent of the ducking stool, or at least about as scientifically accurate". In The Times, columnist Martin Samuel described the show as "a tragic, self serving procession of freaks, misfits, sad sacks and hopelessly damaged human beings" and its guests as "a collection of angry, tearful and broken people, whose inexperience of talking through painful, contentious, volatile issues leaves them unprepared and inadequate for a confrontation of this nature" whilst noting that they "can only appear intellectually inferior to the host, too, with his sharp suit and well rehearsed confidence". Reviewing for The Guardian, Charlie Brooker wrote that the show was "completely and utterly horrid". Brooker described Kyle as "unafraid to hurl abuse at his hapless idiot guests" and commented "not that I'm saying Kyle himself is an agent of Satan, you understand. I'm just saying you could easily cast him as one. Especially if you wanted to save money on special effects". In an episode of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, Brooker later described the show as "a non stop bellowing festival, in which a cast of people who resemble a sort of aquatic livestock chart the outer limits of incomprehension." Derek Draper, writing in The Guardian, said that Kyle "effectively projects himself as a strong father figure, setting boundaries and trying to teach responsibility and restraint" to those on his show. Johann Hari of The Independent called the show's morality "unconsciously but wonderfully progressive", as it attacked "Men who treat women badly. Homophobes. Misogynists. Neglectful parents." However, Hari believed that "[t]here are good reasons to be worried". Hari summarised the show by saying that "distressed people [ ] have their wounds ripped open for our enjoyment", suggested that all guests should receive ongoing counselling, and commented on how the working class were treated on the show: "[t]here are also ugly prejudices encoded in the sneers".

On 29 September 2007, Learndirect, the government backed sponsors of The Jeremy Kyle Show, cancelled their £500,000 a year deal over concerns about its content following a letter of protest from Welsh Member of Parliament David Davies. Ufi, which runs the Learndirect adult learning service, said continuing the deal would not "protect and enhance" its reputation. The former sponsor of the show in Scotland, Shades Blinds, retained their association with the programme although they did raise the possibility of withdrawing their sponsorship. It was subsequently sponsored by The Sun Bingo, and has been sponsored by several bingo companies such as Wink Bingo, Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo and Gala Bingo.

The Jeremy Kyle Show has been the subject of parody by at least two BBC comedy shows. In the programme Dead Ringers, a parody of the show has appeared. Also, in October 2007, the BBC began broadcasting The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle, a sitcom starring and co written by Jennifer Saunders and Tanya Byron. David Walliams had a series of sketches parodying the show as if it involved middle class guests in his sketch show Walliams & Friend in 2016.

A behind the scenes DVD, titled Jeremy Kyle: Access All Areas, was released in late 2009, following the series' structure and how each programme was prepared and produced.

In January 2010, ITV announced an agreement to take a pilot version of the show to the United States in 2010, in partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment subsidiary Debmar Mercury. The pilot proved successful, and in November 2010, the U. S. version was picked up in 70% of the U. S. television markets, ahead of its 19 September 2011 debut. In December 2012, the American version of The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled due to lower than expected ratings.