Married at First Sight UK cancelled after BBC revealed rape allegations

Married at First Sight UK will not return, Channel 4 has said, following a BBC Panorama investigation into the hit reality TV show.

The show’s budget will be reinvested in “distinctive new programming”, the broadcaster’s chief executive Priya Dogra said on Thursday, and she repeated her apology to the women involved in the investigation, for the “distress they have clearly felt”.

The Channel 4 show was plunged into crisis earlier this year, after a Panorama programme which revealed rape allegations from two female cast members on the show, while a third woman alleged a non-consensual sex act. The men involved have denied all the allegations against them.

A review was commissioned by Channel 4 shortly after the BBC first contacted the broadcaster, with details of the allegations we had heard.

The show was left reeling after the Panorama investigation in May, in which three women made allegations about the men they were partnered with – claims the men deny.

• One woman said her onscreen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.

• A second woman told both Channel 4 and CPL, before broadcast, about being allegedly raped by her onscreen husband. Her episodes were still aired.

• A third woman – Shona Manderson, the only woman who was identified – accused her onscreen husband of sexual misconduct.

One woman said her onscreen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.

A second woman told both Channel 4 and CPL, before broadcast, about being allegedly raped by her onscreen husband. Her episodes were still aired.

A third woman – Shona Manderson, the only woman who was identified – accused her onscreen husband of sexual misconduct.

All three women accused the show of not doing enough to protect them.

Lawyers for CPL, the independent production company that makes the UK version of the show, previously said its welfare system is “gold standard” and industry-leading, and that it acted appropriately in all these cases.

Channel 4 had initially told Panorama that all the allegations were “wholly uncorroborated”.

Review’s findings

The review into the show was divided into two parts: one led by a legal firm into how Channel 4 handled the allegations, and a second one into welfare protocols on MAFS UK.

Only “a summary of findings and recommendations” has been released, rather than the full report.

The first part of the review, by law firm Clyde & Co, found that Channel 4 and CPL’s welfare protocols were compliant with Ofcom’s broadcasting code, but noted that there were times when the welfare framework was not “fully implemented”.

It added that Channel 4 and CPL could have undertaken a more structured longer-term review over multiple series.

The review also made recommendations for areas where the contributor welfare framework could be “further strengthened”.

Image source, Married at First Sight UK, CPL Productions

Shona Manderson appeared on the 2023 series of Married at First Sight UK

The second part of the review, led by former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, found that the welfare protocols for MAFS UK were extremely thorough and of a high standard.

It offered observations on “the specific challenges associated with the MAFS UK format” and made “future-facing recommendations”, while concluding that, with enhancements to the existing contributor welfare framework and adjustments to the format, it would be reasonable to continue to produce future series of MAFS UK.

Dogra said welfare across all of their programmes is “a primary concern”.

She said that considering the “wholesale implementation” of the recommendations “provoked fundamental questions about the editorial proposition of a show that, I believe, has now run its course over 10 years”.

She added that the review “did not have the authority to adjudicate on the very serious allegations made by three women in the Panorama programme”.

Panorama’s impact

Billed as a “bold social experiment”, Married at First Sight UK – known to many as MAFS – sees single people agree to “marry” total strangers, after meeting for the first time at their mock weddings.

The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on honeymoon, before moving in together and navigating their relationships – all while being filmed, almost every day.

The UK version, which had been running for 10 seasons, is one of Channel 4’s biggest shows, with audience figures often topping three million.

Following the Panorama broadcast, Channel 4’s chief executive Priya Dogra initially didn’t apologise, although she did express her “sympathy” for those who had spoken up.

Less than 48 hours later, she changed position, telling reporters she was “deeply sorry” over the women’s distress.

The impact of the Panorama progamme was swift, and sizeable.

Channel 4 launched its external review, all the episodes were taken down from its streaming service, and a major sponsor pulled out.

Married at First Sight UK usually starts airing in September, but the new series was put on hold following the revelations in the Panorama.

Ofcom has since launched an investigation, and in June, a male cast member was arrested on suspicion of rape.

The individual is not being named. The alleged victim is also not being named; anyone who makes an allegation of rape is entitled to anonymity by law.

If you have more information about this story, you can reach Noor by email at noor.nanji@bbc.co.uk

The Dark Side of Married at First Sight

Panorama investigates allegations that raise serious concerns that welfare procedures on Married at First Sight UK have failed contributors, leaving them at risk of harm.

Image source, Getty Images

Channel 4’s office in central London

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