‘He was obviously going to focus on sensationalising those issues’ - Police, traders and revellers respond to Jeremy Kyle’s The Kyle Files on Norwich’s Prince of Wales Road

From ITV Studios THE KYLE FILES Ep3 Dangers of a Night Out Monday 13th March 2017 on ITV Screen grab shows : Night time street scene in Norwich (c) ITV (Image: Archant)

The heart of Norwich's nighttime economy came under close scrutiny this evening, as ITV presenter Jeremy Kyle took to Prince of Wales Road for the latest instalment of The Kyle Files.

Although he became famous for his confrontational daytime talk show, Mr Kyle aims to look into high-profile issues in his in-depth primetime documentary series.

Previous episodes have looked at the obesity crisis, knife crime and legal highs.

But tonight, he focussed on drinking culture in The Kyle Files - Dangers of a Night Out.

In the programme he saw what he describes as: 'Paralytic teenagers and people in their early twenties falling out of clubs and needing paramedic help.' Mr Kyle admitted he was most shocked to witness one man so 'mullered' he needed the help of nine people - including paramedics - to pick up the pieces of his good night out.

He paid a visit to Courtesy Taxi's, where he said: 'I was surprised to see a bouncer on the door of a taxi run.'

Inside, he said he found a girl 'collapsed on a sofa' who then needed help from paramedics.

'She's not going home anytime soon,' he said.

Mr Kyle said he wrote to all the bars and clubs on Prince of Wales Road to discuss their responsibilities, but he 'did not get a single response.'

But those who work on Prince of Wales Road, from business owners to the police, have defended the street and said it was not the way the programme portrayed it to be.

Police and Crime Commissioner Lorne Green said: 'I have spent a lot of time on Prince of Wales Road in an official capacity and you know, what I have seen is a lot of young people having a great time. And if I was 20 or 25 I would probably be on Prince of Wales Road too.

He added: 'Improvement has been made over the years.'

Inspector Ed Brown, of Norfolk Police's Community Operations, said: 'I think he visited because Norwich did have that bad reputation for nighttime drinking, so he was obviously going to focus on sensationalising those issues.

'When we were aware [he was coming] we thought okay, it's not going to come back and report there's no issues in Norwich and everyone is drinking responsibly because that would not make a good news story.

'It doesn't surprise me, some of the comments he came out with - people being sick and urinating in the street is shameful and people should have more personal responsibility. But what the programme did not pick up on is the fantastic partnership working which goes on to make Norwich a really safe place.'

He added that businesses on the road were concerned about the reputation the programme would give the street.

'But business owners know what the truth is,' he added, and he felt it was not any different to other areas.

Gary Thompson, from GT's Male Hair Design on Prince of Wales Road, said knowing Jeremy Kyle he had not expected it would be a positive show.

'It would have been nice for him to come in and talk to use daytime traders too, get some balance,' he said.

Green party councillor Lesley Grahame added that it was a minority which causes issues. 'There a small minority who cause a lot of trouble, we don't want to focus on them, we want to focus on making it so everyone can focus on having a good time.'

But Norwich is by no means alone.

The show, which also looked at nightlife in Birmingham and other 'dangers of a night out' stories from around the country, investigated the misuse of alcohol – and what can be done to change a drinking culture that costs society £21 billion annually.