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Kyle's caring side
HIS controversial no-holds-barred show has been accused of "human bear-baiting" but chatshow king Jeremy Kyle has revealed a softer side to his normal hard-hitting style.
There'll be no chance of getting the straight talking presenter on a roller coaster or in a night club rubbing shoulders with Blackpool's hen and stag parties when he hits the resort later this month.
A cup of hot cocoa in front of Question Time is top of the agony uncle's list.
Jeremy will stay in the resort when he appears at Care in the Air, a night of entertainment at North Pier in aid of the North West Air Ambulance's 10th anniversary on July 20.
He said: "I turn 44 in a fortnight. I'm too old for night clubs now – it'll be a hot chocolate in front of Question Time."
It's just as well for Jeremy then that Blackpool didn't win the casino bid.
In his first book, I'm Only Being Honest, he reveals a gambling addiction which left him 12,000 in debt at one point.
And the addiction theme pops up again when he discloses details of his obsessive compulsive disorder.
"I realised how ordered my life was. I get up and mop the kitchen floor at 2am. I lick my mobile phone to make sure it's clean – I know it's disgusting. I did lick golf balls too until somebody told me a guy in America who did that died because of the pesticides."
So it seems that far from being a thrill-seeker, the notoriously outspoken presenter had better stick to just a stroll on Blackpool beach – where you'll probably find him licking his phone clean of sand.
He added: "I'm looking forward to a day on the beach but don't even ask me about the big dipper – I get seasick just sat on a train!"
The truth is the agony uncle has been on a roller coaster ride ever since he swapped his sales post at local radio station Orchard FM for presenting.
His straight-talking honesty on a string of radio jobs finally gave him his big break on the small screen with The Jeremy Kyle Show in his late- 30s.
"People love the Kyle show or they hate it," he says. "It's Marmite. I'm honest and direct and I think that's the point. If somebody asks my opinion, I give it. That doesn't make it right or wrong. It's conflict resolution and the resolution is massive."
The ITV day-time hit, which relies on the traumas and tribulations of ordinary people, was thrust into the spotlight in 2007 when a Manchester judge branded the show as "human bear baiting".
Sentencing a man who headbutted his love rival during filming, Judge Alan Berg described the programme as a "depressing display of dysfunctional people, whose lives are in turmoil, often in some perceived or actual dispute with each other, for the purposes of titillating bored members of the public who have nothing better to do in the morning than watch trash TV".
But the presenter defies critics who say the show encourages rows and violence on screen. Behind the guests' shouting and screaming, you'll find a dedicated, caring team who want to help.
He said: "I repeat all the time, Ofcom will say never has any violence ever been shown on the Jeremy Kyle show. There are moments when frustrations boil over. People get angry. The closest I've ever come to getting caught in the crossfire is flapping my arms when someone caught my ear."
It's a topic which the father-of-four brings to light in his book which he is currently promoting across the country.
He said: "If you stick your head above the parapet, you have to be big enough and ugly enough to take the criticism.
"Morally I couldn't do the show without the level of after-care service that Graham (the show's psychotherapist) and his team provide. It wouldn't sit comfortably with me.
"It really is not 'Let''s just get someone on and leave them high and dry'. Last year we put a huge number of people on to detox and into long-term counselling.
"The point of my book is to say to critics – there's a lot more to the show if you look beyond it a bit.
"Everyone who comes on our show deserves our help. At least I can stand by the Jeremy Kyle Show and its after-care service."
And he's certainly proved his caring side when it comes to Blackpool.
The TV star made an impassioned plea to missing Blackpool school girl Paige Chivers, who is a big fan of his show, to get in touch with her family.
Through The Gazette, he has begged the 16-year-old, who vanished on August 23, 2007, to let her loved ones know she is safe.
His message read: "Hi Paige, if you see this please, please get in touch with your family .
"They are all very worried about you and desperate to know you are safe and well.
"If you don't want to contact them directly you could call The Gazette or the national missing persons helpline.
"I hope you see this message and let us know you are okay."
Now the presenter is showing his charitable side by appearing alongside Freddie Starr, Rob McVeigh of BBC Any Dream Will Do fame and former Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones at the Care in the Air Gala.
He's keeping his role at the event, which is being organised by Paul Crone from Granada TV, top secret but promises it'll be a great night.
As the king of the lie detector test after revealing the true paternity of babies from across the North West, we'll take his word for it.
He said: "It should be good fun. Paul Crone and I go back years. This is a man who sat naked on the GMTV couch! There'll be lots of surprises and lots of audience participation.
"It's for a really good cause. Air ambulance are needed everywhere in the country - they are fabulous, especially the North West Air Ambulance.
"We get a lot of people from Blackpool coming to the studio to watch the show. Hopefully they'll buy tickets to support Care in the Air."
But there must be some form of self-indulgence for the star during his Blackpool stay?
"I'm coming up for a couple of days. I love it up North, everyone is so hospitable.
"I'm going to watch Phil Taylor, the world champion, play darts in Blackpool. I'm looking forward to it."
Jeremy Kyle will appear at the Care in the Air gala from 7.30pm on Monday July 20.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster by logging on to www.ticketmaster.co.uk or via the 24 hour Ticketmaster Hotline 0844 847 2452, or the pier box office on (01253) 623304.
julia.bennett@blackpoolgazette.co.uk
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Monday 13 February 2012
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