A COMMITTEE IN the UK is to launch an inquiry into how reality TV programmes are regulated following the death of a participant on the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Damian Collins MP, said an independent review was required and the committee will be holding an inquiry this summer.
It was announced this morning that the Jeremy Kyle Show has been cancelled by ITV after filming and broadcasting of the show was suspended on Monday.
It came following the death of a participant on the show last week.
Collins said there was a duty of care by broadcasters who air reality TV shows, particularly when it comes to vulnerable individuals.
“ITV has made the right decision to cancel the Jeremy Kyle Show,” Collins said, adding “that should not be the end of the matter”.
“There needs to be an independent review of the duty of care TV companies have to participants in reality TV shows.
“Programmes like the Jeremy Kyle Show risk putting people who might be vulnerable on to a public stage at a point in their lives when they are unable to foresee the consequences,” he added.
“The broadcasters must demonstrate their duty of care to the people whose personal lives are being exposed.”
A spokesperson for Downing Street yesterday said it was “deeply concerning” while British media reports suggested the participants death related to a failed lie-detector test.
The Jeremy Kyle show had been running for 14 years after first airing in 2005.
“Given the gravity of recent events we have decided to end production of The Jeremy Kyle Show,” ITV’s CEO Carolyn McCall said in a statement.
“ITV will continue to work with Jeremy Kyle on other projects,” she said.
Reality TV shows have been a hit in recent years with shows like Geordie Shore and Love Island regularly drawing in hundreds of thousands of viewers when they air.
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