by Wayne Reeves

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2010

From mundane beginnings as an insurance salesman and recruitment consultant, then rising to radio-show personality across many different stations across the UK - presenter Jeremy Kyle finally made the transition to TV in 2005 with the debut of his "The Jeremy Kyle Show".

His show is based on the every-day relationships of so-called "normal" people that are needing some help in dealing with paternity, fidelity or seemingly unending family feuds. The format is the same on most shows: introduce one of the guests first, get their point-of-view and then bring on the other person and get their side of the story.

A predictable war-of-words ensues, enabling Jeremy to intervene and give his personal take on the situation in front of him, the studio audience and the viewers watching on TV. At times you do wonder where these people (the guests) come from with their outrageous stories, views and the actions they're willing to take in front of the audience.

Many subjects involve the use of DNA tests to prove child-paternity, other shows will be built around the results of lie-detector tests. Jeremy ramps up the drama by presenting them in a stage-managed way to emphasise the importance to the guests - his production assistant walks on from stage-right to hand him the supposed unknown test-results. A dramatic pause just before a result is read is overdone and played out to full-effect by Jeremy.

As he points out to many people on the show - it's his name on the studio wall so you better listen to him - he can and is very judgemental when the time is right to be so. He can be guilty of harping on about the rights and wrongs of a person's way of life at times - there is also a genuine side when you see his physical exasperation to a few of the attitudes and lack of respect shown by many participants on his stage.

TV shows like this do have that air about them that they are preying on the vulnerable that have real issues; the "juicer" the story-line the better - some guests have allegedly said that they were coerced into causing a scene in the studio to boost ratings.

In the show's defence, it purports to have a dedicated "after-care team" behind the scenes that actively helps out the guests. Occasionally you do see this in action with the frank realities of their lives away from the glare of studio lights.

Dubbed as the "social hero" by the network that broadcast the show in UK, "The Jeremy Kyle Show" has shown to be a popular show in its mid-morning timeslot. Claiming to have two-million viewers (including afternoon repeats) the show has been a staple of the ITV network schedule.

"The Jeremy Kyle Show" is a slick production that could be seen as exploiting the troubled sections of our society. Jeremy has a passion in what he does without question - you might not always agree with him but it's easy to get drawn into other peoples' lives (as a TV voyeur) with this show.

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