The Jeremy Kyle show researchers found guests by befriending the vulnerable and dangling free DNA and lie detector tests, it has been claimed.
ITV today confirmed that the controversial show has been cancelled following the suspected suicide of guest Steve Dymond - who was distraught after failing a lie-detector test.
And it's now been reported that a researcher befriended him on Facebook and invited followers to call him on a Salford number if they fancied a slot on the show.
According to the Daily Mail, one employee posted a a message reading, "We've got a space on tomorrow's show, who wants a DNA test?"
If taken privately, a lie detector test can cost in excess of £400. And it's said to have been this carrot that convinced Steve, 62, to take part in a bid to convince fiancée, Jane Callaghan, of his faithfulness.
Jeremy Kyle's ex-agent says Steve Dymond's family 'should have discouraged him'
"He had gone on the show solely to clear his name but he said it had gone wrong because of the lie detector test," his son Carl Woolley, 39, told the newspaper.
Carl grew up estranged from Steve, who suffered from depression. However, they reunited in the days before his death when a concerned friend made contact with Carl.
"He was adamant that he did not lie. He was so upset that he wasn't making much sense, but he just kept repeating: 'I haven't cheated, Carl, I swear I haven't,'" Carl added, claiming his father told him Jeremy had "really ripped in to him."
His landlady Shelly discovered Steve's body surrounded by letters in his rented bedroom, where he is believed to have laid dead for days.
And she claims the lie detector results drove the already troubled digger driver to a dark place.
"The tears were rolling down his face. I can see them now. He said when the lie detector results were revealed it turned very nasty," she said.
"He said Jane went crazy at him and 'she called me a bastard' and said that 'she went for me'. I think she went to slap him then ran off the stage. He said it was messy. He said Jeremy Kyle 'ripped' into him and called him a liar. Those were his words.'"
Two other guests have since claimed they were left feeling suicidal after appearing on the show, and a former runner alleged there was violence backstage.
TV producer Gavin Hill, who was hired to film behind-the-scenes on the show, told The Mirror he was 'horrified' to see guests given just '10 minutes' of aftercare despite having their lives 'torn apart'.
"It was shocking the very little amount of ointment they put on these people before they sent them away - the box is ticked, we've done our bit.
"It was like a sticking plaster. I found it horrific watching this take place.'
"[Therapist] Graham [Stanier] tried to put their lives back together before they left – but what struck me was how they'd ruthlessly broken them in the first place."
