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Original poster

To wonder why all the people on Jeremy Kyle are so strange.

203 replies

rainydaysarebad · 09/05/2012 23:04

I'm no super model myself, but why do these people have bad teeth, bad skin, bad hair, loopy eyes like they're not with it? Many a time I have heard some of them refer to their partners bad hygiene too. They talk roughly and the women wear clothes that are too tight for them.

Ive been at home alot recently and am catching episodes of it all day. I am thoroughly shocked to say the least. Are these people really a true portrait of Britain's working class? I know it's stupid TV, but I am genuinely intrigued by these people and often sit mouth wide open at the stupid things they come out with and their stories in general.

OP posts:
radiolater · 09/05/2012 23:54

This programme has been running for years

I remember seeing it when on maternity leave - DD is 7 now!

On days off from work I do notice it is still on - cannot watch it but see it is still there!

Do wonder who these people are who aspire to being on this show - or do the producers go around British towns during the working week looking for toothless inbreds and recruit them with the promise of a bottle of liebfraumilch/buckfast?

xxmush1983xx · 09/05/2012 23:59

JK would have a field day on my estate, we are in the minority that work (well DP does, I'm SAHM and studying) and it sickens us that we struggle while they live in lap of luxury at our expense! We are by no means sheltered or naive but are still Shock at what goes on!

georgie22 · 10/05/2012 00:02

Well if you think it's good entertainment then carry on watching it! Guess it's car crash TV. The concern is that there are people appearing on the show who are clearly very vulnerable and they're being exploited for the sake of entertainment and I'm not sure how effective the 'after care' is? I'll stick with Escape to the Country and Homes under the Hammer, thanks!

BertieBotts · 10/05/2012 00:06

You know what, FFS, they are people you know, not some other breed, with keeping going on about "them" and "those people" and this air of "eurgh!"

Some "people like that" are perfectly nice, you know. And not all "nice middle class people" are, either.

squeakytoy · 10/05/2012 00:07

You would rarely see anyone on that show who has any sense. Simply because the people who want to air all their dirty laundry on there, have no morals, no sense of decency, and no shame.

The producers of the show know this. Yes, they probably do exploit it for viewing figures, but nobody is actually forced to go on the show. The only people who go on it are fuckwits with that sort of mentality that makes them think going on JK is something to be proud of.

If I did not know who the father of my child was, I would be utterly ashamed, not asking for a DNA test on national television for all the country to see, and make myself a laughing stock of my town.

That show is cringeworthy to watch, but it is a very real indication of the intellect and lifestyle of quite a number of people in society.

I always feel very sorry for any children who are involved unwittingly in this programme. Knowing that your parents sat on there cursing each other while someone read out a card telling them who your father was should be mortifying, but sadly I suspect the offspring of many "guests" will wear it as a badge of honour.

BumpingFuglies · 10/05/2012 00:21

Rainydays - as you sit up there in your ivory tower, wondering how on earth these offensively ugly people with bad skin, bad teeth and bad hair can possibly be allowed to grace your television screen, spare a thought. Just a little one.

Whilst you are intrigued by these "working class" people and have "seen them in town with the whole family", you do not wish to meet them. Therefore I suggest that you switch off the TV show, concentrate on your baby and STOP talking about CLASS. It's making you look like an arse.

georgie22 · 10/05/2012 00:29

BumpingFuglies - couldn't have said it better!

ErikNorseman · 10/05/2012 06:23

You know what, FFS, they are people you know, not some other breed, with keeping going on about "them" and "those people" and this air of "eurgh!

That^

The people on Jk are poor, badly educated, and often have drug/alcohol/mental health problems. If you read between the lines when they are telling their stories you see lots and lots of abuse and neglect. The fact is that we have in this country a strata of people whose lives are blighted by cyclical abuse and poverty. It is a shame and a problem but as individuals the people on the show are no less worthy of human dignity and respect than you or I.

And the bad teeth? Poor diet, drugs, neglect. Some women who have been sexually abused will neglect their teeth as well. Having free dental care doesn't mean you have the parents to ensure you use it from childhood.

BlackholesAndRevelations · 10/05/2012 07:29

I can't watch longer than about five minutes (and barely ever do) as it makes me so uncomfortable seeing people exploited, ridiculed and laughed at, by the studio audience (mainly students from UEA, I think? My friend was in the audience a few times) and the obnoxious mr Kyle himself ("look into my eyes"; "it's my name up there so shut up and let me speak" etc etc- cringe) The hardest thing to see is that the people often don't realise they're being laughed at and think they're being laughed with.

catgirl1976 · 10/05/2012 07:33

It's a disgusting programme.

They actively seek out vulnerable people often with MH or addiction issues and then exploit them for the promise of 5 minutes of fame and a night in a hotel.

It makes me sick.

I am sure people like this do exist but they should be helped not jeered at by an idiot and an audience.

Horrible

Codandchops · 10/05/2012 07:40

What a nasty thread this is with thankfully a few exceptions. There but for the grace of God etc. You are so fortunate those of you who have had lovely lives. JK is nasty and exploits those who are too vulnerable to realise they are being exploited.

HillyWallaby · 10/05/2012 07:40

Some women who have been sexually abused will neglect their teeth as well.

Can you explain please Erik?

doormat · 10/05/2012 07:50

of course these ppl exist ...you dont think they are robots do you....

also i find this program appaling...jk is so far up his own arse..he wipes his teeth with toilet roll

RubyGates · 10/05/2012 07:57

Jon Ronson, (Sorry folks) suggests in his book "The Psycopath Test", that researchers have a set of questions that will identify the "just fucked up enough": If you're on Anti-depressants= Bingo! However, anti-psychotics = Too fucked up.

They get it wrong sometimes with after-show suicide as the end result.

Codandchops · 10/05/2012 07:57

I know two families who went on the JK show for DNA tests. I knew them professionally through work. Nearly all the adults had grown up in the care system and came from previously abusive backgrounds. All were living on the breadline financially, family backgrounds were chaotic and they had ongoing problems as adults due to their upbringing. Just about the last thing either needed to do was display it all on national TV but......free travel, free hotel and expenses plus a free DNA test. It did not help with Dad in family A turned out also to be Dad of baby in family B.
Oh and that famous "aftercare" is virtually non-existant as far as I can see. JK caused far more problems for these families than he solved.

zookeeper · 10/05/2012 07:57

I agree with you entirely Erik (teeth comment rather dodgy though Smile. This country has an underclass brought about by poverty. Go to any magistrates court and take a look if you don't believe that.

The Kyle show unashamedly exploits vulnerable people for entertainment. Horrible.

NaughtyElephantsSquirtWater · 10/05/2012 08:12

Am disgusted by some of the comments on this thread. "these" people are exploited by the show. A lady I knew from work had a son who was called to go on JK as one of the witness type people a few years back. He was PAID to go on the show as were all the others. He didn't want to look awful and had a good job so turned up in a decent suit. He was taken into a dressing room and asked to put a tracksuit on as were most of the others. The whole thing is presented a certain way and personally I find it vile.

And for what its worth I grew up around "those" people because I come from a single parent family in Beds (Luton, Bedford etc) and whilst some aren't pleasant (as in ANY class of people) others are lovely, caring people. Just because someone doesn't have cosmetically treated teeth, the latest flash clothes and speaks with a local accent and bad grammar they are judged. All that's really telling you is that they aren't well off and didn't get the benefit of the education middle class children get. That does not entitle ANYONE to assume they are an underclass, or "scum" as I have heard used in RL. They are people, mothers, fathers, EQUALS and should be treated as such. Any of you who decide to judge need to experience living below the poverty line for a bit IMO and realise that most of "those" people are doing their best to cope with what they have.

doormat · 10/05/2012 08:18

some ppl are very judgemental ....sickening thread

NaughtyElephantsSquirtWater · 10/05/2012 08:32

I would also like to add that when in refuge there were some of "those" people. One lady had suffered 18 years of abuse at the hand of her husband. No-one had listened because she was judged. It wasn't until she had her SIXTH miscarriage that she was taken seriously and it was found that they had all been caused by her H using objects on her. She was a state, barely coping and had severe addictions. If someone had listened to her in the first place her life may have been different. Im actually livid that some posters feel they have the right to make judgements. You have NO concept of what some people's lives entail, none. You think you can imagine what their lives must be like but you don't. There are reasons that people turn to drink, drugs, have no aspirations in life, turn to crime, become homeless you know. Broken homes, abuse, lack of access to education to name a few. Until you have experienced this yourself you have absolutely no right to make the disgusting comments visible on this thread.

ItsAPublicForumWhine · 10/05/2012 08:40

There but for the grace of god.

griphook · 10/05/2012 08:46

Op I'm not sure if you are genuine or on some kind of bored wind up, but you and some others are conning across as jugdemental and discriminatory, you lump all people of the same clas together in a negative manner with no real understanding of how people are manipulated by the media. I would have thought that with your upper class roots you would have a better understanding of things.

Next time you see them why don't you poke them with a stick to see how the sub humans react.

MadameMessy · 10/05/2012 08:53

Im part of the professionally unoffended usually but talking and sneering about people who are vulnerable and being exploited on tv is really pretty low.
Have a Biscuit
At some stage all of these people were kids who you would feel sorry for because of their chaotic lives. When do you stop feeling sorry for people who have been mostly failed by their parents or victims of dv or made bad decisions? As soon as they are 16? Or only if they go on JK?
What a really mean post.

Ellovera · 10/05/2012 08:54

Well said naughty elephant. My oh and I grew up in care and trust me the ones on Jeremy Kyle are the more functional I've seen! Some of my family are like this and worse . A lot worse. They woul not even be allowed on the show.

If you don't fancy walking a mile in their shoes, who the hell are you t to judge

HillyWallaby · 10/05/2012 08:55

Plenty of them are not vulnerable with MH issues though. Some of them are just shouty wankers.

FioFio · 10/05/2012 08:59

I agree with Heyyo. I actually cannot believe they get away with it tbh. It's quite obvious to me a lot of them have addiction problems, mental health problems, learning difficulties and they are given a platform so that people in the audience and at home can poke and laugh Hmm I can hardly believe it's the year 2012