EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Kyle has had a ‘hellish’ five years since the tragic events that led to the axing of The Jeremy Kyle Show – but today, he thanks his wife for ‘saving him’
Jeremy Kyle is known for being straight-talking and no-nonsense on TV. But away from the cameras, he’s a doting father – and his kids clearly have him wrapped around their little fingers. As we coo over his adorable four-year-old, Oliver, and hear all about his recent trip to the dentist, Jeremy laughs and says, “This one acts more like a 10-year-old. When he came out of the appointment, he went, ‘I’m so pleased I have no cavities.’ I was there thinking, how on earth does he know the word ‘cavities’?”
Indeed, as we learn over the course of our exclusive shoot with Jeremy, 59, and his wife Vicky, he’s a lot less scary than he lets on. “He’s actually a total softie,” teases Vicky, 40, as they cuddle up to Oliver and his little sister Iris, Jeremy’s sixth child, who was born in January. You’d never guess during our chat that the couple were up all night with Iris, thanks to all the bugs doing the rounds. Instead, it’s hard to get a word in as they stumble over one another’s sentences and speak at 100mph. But then, there is a lot to say.
It’s been two months since Jeremy was “exonerated” over the tragic death of Steve Dymond. Mr Dymond appeared on the hugely popular ITV daytime programme The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019 to prove he hadn’t cheated on his partner. During filming, Jeremy encouraged Steve to tell the truth and “grow a pair of balls”.
The show was subsequently axed, but in September an inquest into the awful events concluded there was “no clear and reliable causal connection” between Steve’s appearance on the show and his death – tragically, Steve died by suicide seven days later. Over the five years it’s taken to clear Jeremy’s name, his life has changed immeasurably. At his lowest ebb he couldn’t get out of bed or even leave the house for months at a time.
“I was an easy target,” Jeremy says now. “We must never forget that a man died, but it’s been proven that was nothing whatsoever to do with me. It’s been five years of hell. But with the strength of this woman, I’m on the other side.” He looks at his wife, who nods gently. “For two years it was horrific, and I had a complete breakdown,” he says. “It was Vicky who dragged me out of bed. She saved me.”
There’s no doubt Vicky – along with Jeremy’s older children, Harriet, 34, from his first marriage and Alice, 20, Ava, 19, and Henry, 15, from his second – has been a pillar of strength for her husband. “It was tough, but I had to crack on,” she says, matter-of-factly. “It was so hard to see my husband go through that, but I always knew it wasn’t his fault. It was a horrible time for all of us.”
She goes on: “I had to kick him out of bed and force him to do stuff with the family. No one thought he’d be like that. Only his family, friends and children knew – and we kept him going. Jeremy is not the scary person he’s portrayed as on screen. He’s gentle and kind and he wants the best for everyone.”
Rewind to May 2019, and Jeremy recalls the moment he found out his life was about to change. “I was sitting on the loo when I got a call from ITV, simply saying, ‘The show’s gone.’ And at that exact moment, my wife-to-be walked into the bathroom and said, ‘I’m pregnant,’” he says. “I was in such a state for two or three days and it was Vic who pulled me out of it. She told me it didn’t matter what happened, we’d live with her parents if need be. She remained calm. In the moments I’ve really needed her, she’s been incredible.”
Being pregnant is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but for Vicky and Jeremy, going through all of this at the same time was very stressful and upsetting. “When it first all kicked off it was scary,” Vicky recalls. “We had to get security in overnight. People were sending all sorts of threats and banging on our doors at all hours. It was horrible.”
Jeremy adds, “And in terms of my career, overnight I went from being the king of the castle to not even being allowed in the castle grounds for a walk. I completely and utterly get it when people say, ‘Oh but Jeremy Kyle’s a gobs**te,’ I get it. It was part of the show. But for the people who knew me, it was a terrible time.”
In the lead-up to the inquest, Jeremy lost over a stone in weight and was put on antidepressants. “I couldn’t get my head around that,” he says. “Me? On antidepressants? It was strange. But there was a lot to take on. Apart from the tragedy that happened to Steve Dymond, there were over 100 people who worked on the show who lost their jobs overnight.
“I was worried about the team that worked with me, my fiancée was pregnant, I’d lost my career and I still had to go and pick up the kids from school at 3pm. It was the most popular daytime show in ITV’s history. But the world changes. I get that. I’ve learnt from it.
I can look back now and understand it was a different time. The show was very much a product of its time.”
In September, word came in that the show was not considered responsible for Steve’s death. “I was sat in the office of one of my best friends, with a live link to the court, via email,” he recalls. “Just seconds before the report was read out, we lost the internet connection. I swear to God, I lost half a stone right there on the spot. I was shaking. It was only when we were able to turn on Sky TV we finally saw that I’d been vindicated and I just absolutely lost it. This had gone on for five and a half years, Oliver’s entire life. It was finally over. I couldn’t stop crying.”
When we ask Vicky how much she’ll tell Oliver and Iris about it when they’re older, her support for her husband is clear as she tells us, “I’ve kept newspaper clippings and I’ll show them YouTube clips of the show. Even now people celebrate the show, they loved it.” Jeremy adds, “I’m not going to spend my life apologising for a show that 30,000 people came on and loved, and millions around the world watched. There’s a very sad postscript, but it’s been proven that wasn’t the show’s fault.”
Jeremy has nothing but praise for ITV’s level of care and claims the company has given him “so much support.” He tells us he’s doing Kate Garraway’s Life Stories early next year and that he has a lot of exciting opportunities on the horizon. “ITV respected the fact that, in all that time, I never spoke. Out of complete respect for Steve Dymond and his family. But at the same time, when you’re sitting there with your kids, seeing how one-sided it all was, it was hard, for all of us. But the truth does come out.”
Now Jeremy is determined to look forward. “I’m 60 next year and life feels like it’s starting again,” he says. “Now we need to look ahead. I don’t want this to be my legacy – I want my legacy to be that I’m a great dad.” And judging by his rapport with Iris and Oliver on our shoot, he’s got that covered. He’s full of praise for his wife, too, saying, “The ultimate compliment I can give Victoria is that she reminds me of my mum. She’s the most amazing mother. It’s the most underrated job in the world, being a full-time mum. She has my full respect.”
Vicky was nanny to Jeremy’s three children from his second marriage and the pair admit it was quite a transition when they first got together, 18 months after that marriage broke down in 2015. Jeremy explains, “Vicky left her nanny position and a year and a half later we got together and she quite literally changed my life. There’s always a transition with the children, but now I see them turn to Vic when they need something and that shows how far we have come.
“They now say they’re so glad Vic and I ended up together, because those two years in between were just awful for everyone. Apparently, the lunchboxes were rubbish, the dinners were rubbish, it was really tough for a while. But I always made sure we had a lot of fun. A lot of people go through break-ups and my kids are flourishing on the other side, and so much of that is down to Vic. The girls would probably go to Vicky for advice before they would come to me. They adore her.”
Jeremy admits he never contemplated having more children until he and Vicky fell in love, but he’s enjoying every minute of this new wave of fatherhood. And according to Vicky, he’s romantic to boot. “He’s one of the last breed of traditional, kind men,” she gushes. “He’ll make me a coffee every morning, he’ll buy me flowers, he’s a romantic. You say you want to find someone just like your dad and I have.”
“I’m as old as your dad, that’s for sure,” Jeremy jokes, before adding, “The most romantic thing we do is at 5.45 every morning when we’ll sit together and eat a digestive biscuit with a cup of tea. It’s the simple things. And I couldn’t be happier. Finally, the future is looking bright again.”