Dr. Phil says 'no one has changed me like Michelle Knight'

CLEVELAND Ohio -- Phil McGraw, the clinical psychologist and television personality known as Dr. Phil, says that an interview with Michelle Knight is one of the most profound on-camera encounters he has had since launching his syndicated television program in 2002.

McGraw's interview with Knight, the first of three Cleveland women abducted by Ariel Castro, will air as a two-part installment of ' Dr. Phil.' The episodes will air at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 5-6, on WKYC Channel 3.

The 'Dr. Phil' show first announced that the interview would air in three parts, starting Monday. Producers confirmed late Friday that the format had been changed to two parts, starting Tuesday.

Knight disappeared in August 2002. She was 21 at the time.

Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were held captive by Castro for more than 10 years. Berry was kidnapped in April 2003, the day before her 17th birthday. DeJesus was 14 when she disappeared in April 2004.

'Out of respect for Ms. Berry and Ms. DeJesus, she chose to speak about their shared experiences only from her own point of view,' McGraw said of Knight, responding to questions by e-mail. 'When you listen to her describe the horrible living conditions and how she was treated, you wonder how anyone lasted a day let alone more than a decade. In the 12 years of doing the 'Dr. Phil' show, no one has changed me like Michelle Knight and her story of survival.'

Knight, Berry and DeJesus escaped from Castro's Seymour Avenue home on May 6, 2013. Castro pleaded guilty to more than 900 criminal counts that included kidnapping, rape and aggravated murder. As part of a plea bargain, Castro was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 1,000 years, without the chance of parole.

Knight told Castro at his sentencing: 'You took 11 years of my life away, but I've got my life back! I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning . . . From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect who I am. I will live on . . . The death penalty would be so much easier. You don't deserve that. You deserve to spend life in prison.'

Castro was found dead on Sept. 3, hanging by a bedsheet in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, south of Columbus.

'I found Michelle to be very bright, well-spoken and eager, after all of these horrific years, to have her own voice,' McGraw said. 'People have perceived her, probably based on the information in the original missing person report, as being intellectually disabled. I found her to be anything but that. My team and I spent quite a lot of time with Michelle and she showed a tremendous strength in reconstructing her 11 years of captivity. She was understandably very emotional at times.'

Created by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, 'Dr. Phil' is produced by Peteski Productions in association with CBS Television Distribution.

The statement released by the show Oct. 21 describes the interview this way: 'As the first victim to break her silence, she makes never-before-heard revelations about what went on in Castro's Cleveland house of horrors. Knight recalls the day-to-day details of her decade in captivity in a manner than can be described as passionate, moving and poignant. She is the self-proclaimed, most hated victim in the house, and according to Knight, suffered the most abuse at the hands of Castro.'

A few more details were provided in the statement released Friday: 'Knight describes the horrible conditions in the house and reveals the various methods of physical, mental, and sexual abuse that Castro inflicted on her, some of which include being 'tied up like a fish' and spending weeks chained up and tortured in Castro's basement.'

The press release says that 'Knight thought her only escape from this relentless punishment would be death.'

Berry and DeJesus are working on a book with Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Mary Jordan of The Washington Post, who grew up on Cleveland's West Side.

'This is a story that has captivated the country and Michelle wanted her own singular voice in relating her experiences across those horrific years as well as now,' McGraw said. 'This is a tragic story but it is also a story of inspiration and victory by a courageous young woman. America will absolutely love and embrace her.'