For many of us, watching the Jeremy Kyle Show is a way for us of reaffirming that life isn’t all bad and that there’s always someone worse off than us.
Mean, we know, but true, right?
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But recently the show has taken a rather dark turn.
Last week two separate guests spoke of grotesque sexual assaults they had experienced in their lives and this week, viewers were disgusted by a “sick” guest who used a 16-year-old’s death to claim money and to boost his social media channel.
Britney Mazzoncini was found dead at her home in Glasgow last summer after suffering online bullying.
Her grieving parents Annette and Raymond this week appeared on the show to confront a guy called Marcus who has been claiming to have had close relationship with their daughter before her death – even though it emerged that they had only spoken three times in chat messages.
The couple branded the man a “fantasist” and accused him of lying to raise money and gain sympathy by telling folks he was doing a fund raiser and attending Britney’s funeral.
According to mum Annette, Britney’s death was the fourth in Glasgow that Marcus has “jumped on”.
“I’ve tried being nice to him, I’ve tried being nasty, I’ve tried ignoring him,” she said.
She also told the oddball that her daughter “wouldn’t have liked you, she would have thought you were a weirdo.”
Marcus vehemently denied asking people for “money in the memory of Britney”, but the lie detector caught him out when the results showed him to be a liar.
Jeremy, who’s seen his fair share of loathsome folk on the show over the years, said this was a “one of the most shocking stories” he had ever seen and told Marcus what he had done was “sick”.
He added: “Leave these poor grieving people alone. The way you have treated them is appalling.”
While Marcus maintained that he hadn’t taken any money he promised to steer clear of Britney’s parents and would accept help after the show.
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Viewers were appalled by Marcus and took to Twitter to express their disgust at his actions.
“#jeremykyle This guy is detached from reality, disturbing is not the word”, said one.
Another added: “This is literally the weirdest story on #jeremykyle this morning!? Why on earth did he ring the show? So bizzare @itvjeremykyle”
“What a sick, twisted, delusional, attention seeking b*****d! #JeremyKyle”, a livid telly viewer wrote.
While another raged: “@itvjeremykyle He is the freakiest guy I’ve ever seen on #jeremykyle Social media is a scary place!”