Daniella Westbrook defends 'Jeremy Kyle Show' amid calls for it to be axed for good
Daniella Westbrook has jumped to the defence of ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ after it was suspended.
ITV decided to pull the show from the air and deleted all archive episodes from its on demand service after the death of grandfather Steven Dymond, who is believed to have taken his own life just ten days after taking part in the show.
Former EastEnders actress Westbrook recently filmed a celebrity special for the ITV daytime chat show which was due to be screened this week. Her appearance to promote the show on ITV’s Loose Women has also been cancelled.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle funds rehab for ex-’Eastenders’ star Daniella Westbrook
The 45-year-old star who has battled drug addiction for many years, praised the aftercare she had received from producers of the show and resident psychotherapist Graham Stanier.
Westbrook told the Sun Online: “I firstly want to express my deepest condolences to the family of the person who has passed away.
“I can only speak on my personal experiences with Jeremy and Graham and the team on the program who have been absolutely amazing with me throughout.
“Their duty of care has been excellent from the very first point of contact , to having me on the show all the way through my recovery program.”
The actress and mother-of-two previously appeared on the show in February and it has since been revealed producers funded a three-month stay in rehab to help her beat drug addiction.
Do not miss @westbrookdanni on tomorrow’s shocking episode! pic.twitter.com/TBFns8QCeb
— The Jeremy Kyle Show (@ITVJeremyKyle) February 7, 2019
Westbrook said: “The team including Jeremy himself were in constant contact with me throughout, making sure I was OK and since leaving the rehab, they have continued to be in touch and I have felt fully supported throughout.
“Graham has ensured I have felt safe and comfortable throughout my whole process.”
The Jeremy Kyle Show was suspended this week after it emerged that guest Dymond had died by suspected suicide just ten days after failing a lie detector test on the daytime chat show.
There have been calls from MPs, celebrities and the public to axe the show - dubbed ‘poverty porn’ - permanently.
