Inquest into death of The Jeremy Kyle Show guest Stephen Dymond, of Portsmouth delayed after family death

Mr Dymond, who lived in Portsmouth, is suspected to have died by suicide seven days after filming for the ITV programme in May 2019.

The 63-year-old appeared on the show accused of cheating on his ex-fiancee, Jane Callaghan, from Gosport.

Now the inquest into his death has been delayed by at least seven months on ‘compassionate grounds’ following the death of Mr Dymond’s mother.

The application for adjournment was made by Mr Dymond’s brother, Leslie, and son, Carl Woolley, whose involvement in the inquest would be unjustly hampered by their grief and funeral preparations, according to Coroner Jason Pegg, who addressed the adjournment in open court in Winchester today.

Mr Pegg said: ‘The funeral is tomorrow and it is said by the counsel for Mr Woolley and Mr Dymond that both would not be able to engage in meaningful inquest preparations.

‘I’m concerned that the inquest that was listed today was approaching the third anniversary of Stephen Dymond’s passing and any delay is best avoided.

‘There is also considerable public interest in this case. But there is also the matter for all interested parties to properly and effectively take part in these proceedings.’

The coroner indicated that proceedings will resume in October this year at the earliest.

Mr Pegg said the adjournment was made out of ‘compassion and compassion alone’, after the family also raised concerns about information arising from a recent Channel 4 documentary.

The documentary, broadcast earlier this month, revealed the final text sent by Mr Dymond, with the TV show guest saying that The Jeremy Kyle show was ‘responsible for what happens now’.

The coroner said that the revelations arising from the documentary alone did not warrant the adjournment.

Mr Dymond died of a morphine overdose and heart problem at his home in Portsmouth, a preliminary hearing was told in 2020.

At the time, Mr Pegg said Jeremy Kyle had called Mr Dymond a ‘serial liar’ and said he ‘would not trust him with a chocolate button’.

The coroner said Kyle, 56, would be an interested party at the inquest because ‘he may have caused or contributed’ to Mr Dymond’s death.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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