Jeremy Kyle Show guest ‘driven to brink of suicide and left homeless after being falsely accused of theft’
Harry Henson, 30, from Barnet, said he was left feeling suicidal after appearing on the show in 2015
A JEREMY Kyle Show guest claims he was driven to the brink of suicide and left homeless after falsely being accused of theft on the programme.
Harry Henson, 30, went on the show in 2015 to prove his innocence after he was accused of stealing golf clubs from his mum’s partner.
But Mr Henson, from Barnet, North London, failed the test and claims the stress caused him to “relapse into cocaine and cannabis”.
He remembers standing at a train station thinking “I can’t f***ing do this anymore” and said the show “ruins your life”.
He bravely spoke after the suspected suicide of 62-year-old Steven Dymond who was found dead at his home in Portsmouth after taking a lie detector test for the show last week.
"TEST WAS WRONG"
Mr Henson is adamant the test he took four years ago was wrong and the show’s producers have admitted the test is not 100 per cent accurate.
“I was crying most of the time. I even walked up to the train station and was standing there going, 'I can't f***ing do this anymore, it's a joke'.
“'I had a really bad experience. I'm glad they can actually see it now for what it is.
“It's meant to be a talk show, it's not meant to bring vulnerable people there and take the p*** out of them and then tell them to bugger off home after ruining your life.”
He also slammed the care he received after the show, claiming it felt like he had the “p*** taken out of him”.
Mr Henson also said he was “shoved in a taxi” and suffered four panic attacks outside the ITV studios.
It was really, really, really f***ing bad. I got disowned by my family because of it and nearly killed myself.
Harry Henson
He claims the only help he received was a 10-minute chat with a psychologist the show provided.
Mr Henson later proved his innocence when the golf clubs were found.
He said the show is “shameful” because he was felt feeling “violated” due to the lack of aftercare.
Mr Henson added: “I feel sorry for that guy [Steve Dymond], if he's had to do that because of the show. I've been in that same situation as him, I didn't have the balls to do it.
“I know what Steve Dymond has gone through, it's sad that it's taken this to make people realise that the show is just a joke.”
It comes as a decorated veteran with PTSD claims he nearly killed himself after being branded a "disgrace" when he appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Fergus Kenny, 49, had agreed to go on the controversial programme in the hope he would be reunited with his estranged daughter.
BRINK OF SUICIDE
But the corporal, who served in the Gulf War, Bosnia and Iraq, says he was driven to the brink of suicide after Kyle told him: "You don't deserve your daughter, pal".
Since news of Steve's death emerged, ITV pulled the episode of the Jeremy Kyle show and has halted filming and pre-production on future episodes while a review is held.
Steve had gone on the show to convince fiancée Jane Callaghan he had not been unfaithful, but they split after he failed the test - with pals now fearing he took his own life.
The pensioner is believed to have taken a fatal overdose of prescription medication, which he had been prescribed for his arthritis, 10 days after appearing on the show.
Just before his death, Steve texted Jane to say he could not face life without her.
ITV said all guests on the show are given an assessment by mental health workers ahead of appearing and are supported by a "welfare team" during recording.
They are then interviewed again after the show has finished to see if they need any further support - including "rehabilitation, counselling, anger management, family mediation, child access mediation or couple counselling".
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
A spokesperson added: "In the case of The Jeremy Kyle Show, the programme has significant and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors pre, during and post show which have been built up over 14 years, and there have been numerous positive outcomes from this, including people who have resolved complex and long-standing personal problems.
"As we have said, 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.
"We will not screen the episode in which they featured.
"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, and we cannot comment further until this review is completed."