Inside the rise and fall of The Jeremy Kyle Show: ‘It was a ticking timebomb’
Fuelled by conflict, the programme ruled daytime TV. Two years after it was taken off air, former staffers reflect on a toxic culture that ended in tragedy. By Jenny Kleeman
In 2017, Kane Manning wasn’t in a good place. He was worried about his brother, Craig. Craig’s ex was claiming he was the father of her baby. Craig wasn’t sure if he was; Kane was convinced he couldn’t be. It was a difficult time for the family: Kane’s father had been murdered, and the man who killed him had only just been convicted. The doubts over the baby were causing unnecessary heartbreak.
Then he got a call from a producer at ITV Studios who offered to make the problem disappear. Craig’s ex had called in to The Jeremy Kyle Show, asking for a DNA test. Jeremy Kyle would reveal the result on daytime TV in front of the studio audience. They wanted Kane to be on stage to hear it.
It was so intense. They try and get you hyped up. They were like, ‘Be fiery. Talk really loud’
The backlash was real. I was vulnerable because of what I’d gone through, the trauma, and then I had to cope with this
The one-upmanship of how dedicated and how hard you’re willing to work for the show was a big thing. It was all or nothing
If you feel like you’ve been shamed on national television, sometimes people can’t see a way out of that