Natasha Reddican: Jeremy Kyle Show producer took own life nine months after programme shut down, inquest hears

Death of Natasha Reddican ‘tragic and harrowing ‘ says coroner

Natasha Reddican worked as a producer on the ITV show for six years (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

A TV producer who lost her job on The Jeremy Kyle Show  when the programme was axed took her own life, an inquest has heard.

Natasha Reddican, a 31-year-old described as having “such impressive potential”, died at her home in Salford on 27 February – nine months after the ITV show was axed following the suspected suicide of Steve Dymond, who had appeared on the show as a guest days earlier.

The circumstances of the programme being taken off air were “something that weighed on her mind a lot”, said Reddican’s boyfriend and colleague, Mackenzie Hanafan.

Senior Coroner for Manchester West, Timothy Brennand, said that after losing her job at The Jeremy Kyle Show, where had she worked for six years, Reddican “seems to have been regarded as something of a pariah in the industry”.

She died shortly after a scheduled job interview online did not take place, the inquest heard.

Mr Brennand said the motivations for her actions appeared “multi-faceted” but he noted that it had been described to him that her job on The Jeremy Kyle Show was seen as “being a family at work such was the close-knit community of those involved”.

Her mother, Laraine Law, told the inquest in Bolton that her daughter's job was “everything to her”.

“For that to be taken from her in such a sudden and unexpected way, she became down and depressed. I think it really knocked her,” Ms Law said.

She said Ms Reddican, known to family and friends as Tash, had an “amazing, bubbly personality”.

Her boyfriend, Mr Hanafan, who worked with her on the daytime show, said: “Tash worked so hard to get the job and did it very well and had the respect of all of her colleagues.”

He added: “The way everything played out, it was not a short period, it was dragged out over the year. It did weigh on her a lot.”

Annaliese Edwards, a co-worker of Mr Hanafan at the time of Reddican's death, stated her ex-husband had also worked on show and said that although support was offered by ITV in the redundancy process it was “not enough for some people”, adding: “I think some people struggled with the shame of what happened.”

Concluding Ms Reddican's death was suicide, Mr Brennand, said it was a “tragic and harrowing case” involving a young woman with “such impressive potential”.

“She was a local girl made good with a high work ethic who worked her way up from a modest post to become a producer on a well-known television production,” the coroner said.