Married at First Sight UK will not return, Channel 4 has said, following a BBC investigation into the hit reality TV show.
The Channel 4 show was plunged into crisis earlier this year, after Panorama 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.
On Thursday, the completed review recommended extra safeguards on the show. But Channel 4 said the programme had “run its course” and apologised to the women involved in the investigation.
The broadcaster’s chief executive Priya Dogra said she was “very sorry for the distress those women have clearly felt”, adding that the show’s budget would be reinvested in “distinctive new programming”.
The Panorama investigation in May, in which three women made allegations about the men they were partnered with – claims the men deny, made the following allegations:
- 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”.
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the House of Commons culture and media committee, said the decision to axe the show “makes sense” given the review’s findings and the “seriousness of the allegations”.
“Reality TV contestants have often been treated as a commodity, with duty of care a slogan rather than a genuine principle. Everyone involved in producing and regulating reality TV must now learn and act,” she added.
A spokesman for Ofcom said the broadcast regulator would “carefully consider the reports published today as we move to strengthen our guidance for broadcasters”.
“We are clear that broadcasters have a duty of care towards members of the public who participate in their programmes.”
Review’s findings
The review into the show was split into two – one part examined welfare protocols on MAFS UK, and the other reported on how Channel 4 handled the allegations.
The review into welfare protocols, led by former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, concluded that some parts of the programme’s format increased “the risk profile of the show”.
Although she found the protocols for MAFS UK were extremely thorough and of a high standard, she said “intimacy is a key focus”, and that “some elements of the show could implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate”.
Heggessey made suggestions including installing CCTV in all areas of the apartments, constantly monitored by a welfare team, with panic buttons and “safe words” in place.
She concluded that, with enhancements to the existing welfare framework and adjustments to the format, it would have been reasonable to continue to produce future series of MAFS UK.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on Thursday, she added that the suggested changes “would have, in lots of ways, changed both the format and the nature of the show, but would have given the kind of protection that both Channel Four and CPL would have ideally looked for to ensure the safety of all contributors”.
But she added that she “completely understood” why Dogra “decided that she doesn’t want to proceed with it”.
Married at First Sight UK, CPL Productions
The other 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.
There were no findings of a breach of the code regarding the handling of issues raised at the relevant times.
But it said there were “a small number of instances” where the show’s protocols had not been fully applied.
This included one incident when “some contributors contravened the Code of Conduct relating to prohibited substances but were given a first and final warning rather than being removed from the programme”.
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”.
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
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