Channel 4 has pulled all episodes of Married at First Sight UK from across its platforms while it reviews contributor welfare on the show after BBC1’s Panorama aired allegations of non-consensual sex between participants.
In the BBC in-house doc The Dark Side of Married at First Sight, C4 said that the claims made by three female participants in the reality show are “wholly uncorroborated and disputed”.
In response to the doc, C4 highlighted that CPL’s version of the US reality format is “produced under some of the most comprehensive and robust welfare protocols in the industry”.
C4’s new chief executive Priya Dogra ordered a two-part external review last month.
Law film Clyde & Co is examining the welfare protocols in place on MAFS UK at the time of the allegations as well as how C4 and CPL handled the claims, while former BBC1 controller and ex-Grierson Trust chair Lorraine Heggessey is leading an investigation into whether existing welfare protocols on the show need further strengthening.
The women’s claims
Two pseudonymised women who had taken part in MAFS UK told Panorama that they had been raped by the on-screen husbands with whom they were partnered on the show. Lawyers for both men contest the claims.
One, ‘Chloe’, said she was speaking up now because she wanted CPL “to stop allowing harm to come to people”.
She had complained directly to C4 about her alleged rape and about how CPL handled the incident. After reviewing her complaint, C4 said that CPL had followed the welfare procedures. CPL said she was supported throughout by its “gold standard and industry-leading” welfare system.
Meanwhile, ‘Lizzie’, said she wants to pursue a legal claim against CPL, claiming she showed the welfare team her bruises and told them everything aside from the alleged attack itself. C4 has said it was told of the rape allegation after the series had aired.
A third woman, Shona Manderson, who appeared in series eight of MAFS UK in 2023, waved anonymity. She alleges that she was the victim of a non-consensual sex act committed by her on-screen husband Brad Skelly.
Amid concerns at the time about Skelly’s “controlling” and “coercive” behaviour, CPL and C4 removed the couple from the show. According to Panorama, CPL’s lawyers said they did this to safeguard the couple’s welfare. They added that the production company had a “gold standard” welfare system and had acted appropriately in the cases.
Baroness Kennedy: this is ‘televised abuse’
Speaking to Panorama, Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority chair Baroness Kennedy referred to ‘Lizzie’s case as “televised abuse”.
More broadly, she voiced concerns about the “dangerous” nature of making programmes like MAFS UK.
“The vigilance that’s required of producers, of directors, of the welfare people who around … is very, very real and I think that it’s fallen down here,” she said.
“I personally don’t think it should be on air at all. I just don’t see the right kind of protections being put in place that would absolutely guarantee a prevention of the things that we’ve been hearing about.”
Speaking to BBC News, Culture, Media and Sport committee chair Caroline Dinenage said that as a format, MAFS UK carried "an element of risk".
She said: "It's a TV show that almost expects and anticipates people that have only just met will have to become really quite intimate with each other.
"They're expected to share a bed and a life together within minutes of meeting - it almost feels like an accident waiting to happen."
Channel 4 response
C4 stated that welfare protocols on MAFS UK include “the most thorough background checks available” plus a Code of Conduct clearly setting out behavioural standards, daily contributor check-ins with a specialist welfare team and access to additional support before, during and after filming.
“The physical and psychological wellbeing of all contributors is of paramount importance throughout the process,” it stated. “All duty of care processes are regularly reviewed and, where appropriate, strengthened.”
The broadcaster expects the review to report in the coming months and said it will “share a summary of findings and recommendations at the appropriate time”.
It said it had pulled the show from streaming and linear services and its social channels while the review is ongoing due to the seriousness of the allegations and to “avoid fuelling speculation of jigsaw identification” of the small number of past contributors involved in the claims.
Expressing her sympathy to the contributors affected, Dogra said: “I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.
“Nevertheless, because we aspire to the highest standards of contributor welfare, I felt strongly as Channel 4’s new CEO that it was right that we look again at how we handled issues raised at the time and ask whether changes should be made to further strengthen contributor welfare … We take these issues very seriously and are committed to ensuring that we continue to lead the industry in our duty of care for contributors.”
C4 first aired MAFS UK in 2015 and it has run for ten series to date, with an 11th set to air later this year. The broadcaster also airs the US original, which began in 2014, and New Zealand and Australian versions, all of which remain on its platforms.
