Springer bodyguard gets talk show

Wilkos has also enjoyed a cameo role in TV cartoon The Simpsons

Steve Wilkos, a bodyguard who controlled guests and audience members on Jerry Springer's TV series, has launched his own talk show in the US.

He has promised to serve up "tough love" in The Steve Wilkos Show, which made its debut on NBC on Monday.

The first week will see Wilkos talking to a self-confessed paedophile.

Prior to working on The Jerry Springer Show, Wilkos was a US Marine, and later joined the Chicago Police Department, where he stayed for 12 years.

He was recruited for Springer's programme in 1994, when security guards were required a discussion linked to Ku Klux Klan members.

Wilkos continued with the show while he was still a police officer, but eventually quit in 2001.

He said he would draw on his own personal experience for his no-nonsense style talk show.