I couldn't be happier. Finally the future is looking bright again'

Following a tough few years, TV host Jeremy Kyle and his wife Victoria Burton are focusing on better times ahead and celebrating their devoted family

- SARAH MORTON

Jeremy Kyle is known for being straight-talking and no-nonsense on TV. But away from the cameras, he’s a doting father — and his kids clearly have him wrapped around their little fingers.

As we coo over his adorable four-year-old, Oliver, and hear all about his recent trip to the dentist, Jeremy laughs and says, “This one acts more like a 10-year-old. When he came out of the appointment, he went, ‘I’m so pleased I have no cavities.’ I was there thinking, how on earth does he know the word ‘cavities’?”

Indeed, as we learn over the course of our exclusive shoot with Jeremy, 59, and his wife Vicky, he’s a lot less scary than he lets on.

“He’s actually a total softie,” teases Vicky, 40, as they cuddle up to Oliver and his little sister Iris, Jeremy’s sixth child, who was born in January.

You’d never guess during our chat that the couple were up all night with Iris, thanks to all the bugs doing the rounds. Instead, it’s hard to get a word in as they stumble over one another’s sentences and speak at 100mph. But then, there is a lot to say.

It’s been two months since Jeremy was “exonerated” over the tragic death of Steve Dymond. Mr Dymond appeared on the hugely popular ITV daytime programme The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019 to prove he hadn’t cheated on his partner. During filming, Jeremy encouraged Steve to tell the truth and “grow a pair of balls”.

The show was subsequently axed, but in September an inquest into the awful events concluded there was “no clear and reliable causal connection” between Steve’s appearance on the show and his death — tragically, Steve died by suicide seven days later.

Over the five years it’s taken to clear Jeremy’s name, his life has changed immeasurably. At his lowest ebb he couldn’t get out of bed or even leave the house for months at a time.