The Jeremy Kyle Show has been suspended indefinitely following the death of a recent guest, ITV has announced.
Monday’s episode of the ITV daytime talk show was pulled, with a representative for the network revealing they decided not to air it after one of the participants died a week after filming was completed.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “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.”
It has also been revealed that filming of the show has been put on hold until further notice, due to the gravity of the situation.
They added: “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.”
ITV instead aired a repeat episode of David Dickinson’s Real Deal, and it currently remains unclear if this will serve as a replacement for The Jeremy Kyle Show while it is off the air.
HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for clarification.
The Jeremy Kyle Show has aired on ITV since 2005, and in that time has come under a lot of scrutiny, with one judge notably branding it “human bear-baiting” in 2007, following an incident in which one guest headbutted another.
Useful websites and helplines:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.