JEREMY KYLE has turned down a request to appear before MPs next Tuesday as part of their investigation into reality TV.

ITV axed The Jeremy Kyle Show in May following the death of participant Steve Dymond.

The construction worker died around a week after a split from his fiancee. They reportedly broke up as a result of him failing a lie detector test on the daytime programme.

House of Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee chairman Damian Collins said: “We believe that Mr Kyle is an important witness to the committee in its work.

“We will be pursuing this matter with Mr Kyle’s representatives to see if we can find a date when he will appear or to understand fully the reasons why he is not able to appear.

“We will make a further statement once those discussions have concluded.”

A spokesman for Mr Kyle declined to comment.

The committee will hear from ITV’s chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette and chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall.

The MPs will also question Tom McLennan, the former executive director of The Jeremy Kyle Show, and Graham Stanier who is director of aftercare at ITV and is responsible for the welfare of participants in the show.