The Jeremy Kyle Show has been blatantly destructive for years – it shouldn’t have taken a death to suspend it

The public’s health and societal problems are increasingly being used as bait to rake in the viewers. Why isn’t the media doing more to remove shows that carry mental health risks?

We live in a world where human experiments seem to be one of our most popular forms of entertainment. Put a warring family into a room, film them for national TV and see what happens when they hear the results from a lie detector test. On a slightly more glamorous note, throw a bunch of young people together on a beautiful island and play on their fears and infidelities just for fun.

The national media has today reported the recent death of a participant of the Jeremy Kyle show which happened soon after their involvement in the making of the programme. The story broke on the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week and, whilst we don’t yet know the cause of death, I can’t imagine the pressure involved in airing your most difficult family or relationship issues in front of a jeering crowd and a domineering host. As a result, the show has been suspended indefinitely.

Regardless of cause of death, the fact that this news follows the deaths of more than one Love Island star, most recently the tragic death of Mike Thalassitis, does make me wonder why the media isn’t playing a more proactive role in removing shows – particularly reality shows – that can carry significant mental health risks.

The health risks I’m talking about are two-fold. Firstly, there’s the messaging that the media portrays to its viewers. For example, myself, along with a whole host of other mental health campaigners, recently called out Piers Morgan for saying that kids need to “toughen up” during a conversation on Good Morning Britain about suicide. In response to this, an ITV spokesperson stated that it was Piers’ personal opinion and the fact he is usually challenged by co-host Susanna Reid balances things out. However, anyone who’s watched Good Morning Britain will know who’s voice is heard the loudest – it’s rarely a balanced debate.

The second issue with regards to mental health risks from TV programmes are the reality shows like Love Island and The Jeremy Kyle Show and how they impact the people taking part. It was over a decade ago when Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr managed to get into the studio to watch the filming of one particular episode, and subsequently tracked down one of the participants who was publicly humiliated.

It turned out that he had mental health problems, namely bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia, which he had disclosed to the programme makers but which were, apparently, barely acknowledged. Yet he ended up on TV awaiting the results of a DNA test in front of a live studio audience. He told Cadwalladr that the reason he went on was because he couldn’t afford the DNA test himself and he needed to know the results.

This makes the matter even more disconcerting. Whilst we are enjoying these shows for fun, programme participants aren’t necessarily appearing on them for that reason. From the Guardian interview linked above, it’s not hard to imagine that many participants feel it’s a necessity to overcome a problem, rather than a fun day out with a bit of fame thrown in. In reality, it’s practically akin to watching a medieval public torture.

As producers and journalists like Piers Morgan argue about free speech in the media and the need for an alternative approach to the current mental health conversation, my argument is this: Fine, but why be so blatantly provocative and cruel when you know the risks involved?

The public’s health and societal problems are being used as bait to rake in the viewers. Surely that shouldn’t come above the health of those viewers and those who take part?