A Jeremy Kyle guest has criticised the show for telling him to wear a tracksuit before being branded an “ex-drug dealer in a tracksuit” by the host.

Gareth Edwards, 27, claimed he was asked to change into a tracksuit before appearing on the paternity test special after producers told him he could not appear in the jumper he was wearing because it had a prominent logo. Kyle then picked on Evans' choice of outfit, telling him to “shut up” and calling him “scum” after he appeared on the show to find out if he was the real father of his nine month old son Damien.

Evans’ girlfriend Charmaine Wright, 21, also claimed the show’s staff had been manipulative, “egging” the pair on backstage.

Evans told the Mail Online: “[Jeremy Kyle] slated me for the tracksuit but it was his tracksuit so he slated himself. I wanted to go on the show to be sure Damien was mine, but we 100 per cent regret it. I only went on the show for my son.”

ITV said Edwards brought the tracksuit himself and did not object to being asked to change into it.

A spokesperson for ITV said: “A guest arrived for their appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show wearing an item of clothing featuring a logo on the front. In accordance with OFCOM regulations we asked him to change his clothes so the logo could not appear on air. The guest changed into a different outfit of his own clothes. We would have been happy to supply alternative clothing had this been requested.”

The Jeremy Kyle Show has previously been criticised by former guests for “human bear-baiting”. Past contributors told The Guardian in 2011 that different family members were placed in separate rooms and “wound up” by separate researchers before appearing on the show.