Jeremy Kyle was pulled off air last week after the news of Steve’s death was announced, and ITV confirmed it would be permanently axed from the channel.
Ofcom asked ITV to give it information within five working days about the handling of Steve’s aftercare after he appeared on the show.
Jeremy Kyle show bosses have asked for more time to report back on what happened on The Jeremy Kyle Show, the chief of broadcasting regulator Ofcom Sharon White has said.
She told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee: “ITV have now asked for more time to complete their inquiries.”
Sharon said the watchdog had been “particularly concerned about what has happened to participants after” reality TV programmes.
Ofcom’s chief executive told the committee: “As well as the most recent tragedy with Steve Dymond, alarm bells were particularly rung with the two suicides, Love Island, some months after the broadcasts.”
Ofcom confirmed last week it would be investigating what happened on the show, following Steve’s apparent suicide after he failed a lie detector test about whether he had cheated on his on/off girlfriend Jane Callaghan.
They said in a statement at the time: “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. ITV 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.”
Jeremy also spoke out about the cancellation of the show, which first started in 2005, telling the Sun: “Myself and the production team I worked with for the last 14 years are all utterly devastated by the recent events.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with Steve’s family at this incredibly sad time.”
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