In 2005 Kyle started tv, with a programme also entitled The Jeremy Kyle Show. Here Kyle has reached his widest audience to date. His often aggressive manner with guests (parodied by Dead Ringers) has been the source of both popularity and criticism. He is seemingly unafraid of reprisal from his guests, believing that speaking his mind is better than holding his peace. Guests sometimes take offence at Kyle's comments, one guest even attempting to throw a chair at him, but he often justifies his criticism by claiming that he only wants to help them. Kyle recently claimed on air that his show was watched by 1.8 million viewers, a very high figure for a daytime chat show. The programme has also been parodied in the BBC comedy The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle and also in Dead Ringers.
In September 2007 Judge Alan Berg described The Jeremy Kyle Show as trash which existed to "titillate bored members of the public with nothing better to do". He went on to say "It seems to me that the purpose of this show is to effect a morbid and depressing display of dysfunctional people whose lives are in turmoil." and added that it was "human bear-baiting"