C4 permanently axes Married At First Sight UK after reviews into sex scandal
The BBC’s Panorama reported sex assault claims by Married At First Sight participants
Channel 4 (C4) has permanently cancelled the UK version of Married At First Sight (MAFS) following two formal reviews into allegations of sexual misconduct by the show’s participants.
C4 removed all seasons of MAFS UK from its streaming platforms in May after two former participants said they were raped by their partners while on the show and a third alleged sexual assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.
The BBC’s investigative documentary series Panorama had earlier aired allegations of rape from two unnamed participants in the show, which is produced by CPL Productions. One said her partner had threatened to have acid thrown in her face. A third, Shona Manderson, said her ‘husband’ had engaged in a non-consensual sex act with her while on the show.
Two external reviews were commissioned, both published today, and the result is the show will not return and its budget will be reinvested in new programmes.
Incoming C4 CEO Priya Dogra ordered the first review, conducted by law firm Clyde & Co. It examined whether the welfare protocols in place at the time the claims were initially raised and the handling by C4 and CPL of those claims fulfilled the broadcaster’s duty of care obligations under regulator Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code.
The Clyde & Co review found that, based on the evidence available and the balance of probabilities, C4 and production company CPL’s welfare protocols were compliant with the code.
However, the review also noted further incidents where the welfare framework was not fully implemented and that C4 and CPL could have undertaken a more structured longer-term review over multiple series.
This included an instance 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.
A second review was led by former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey and examined if any changes should be made to current protocols for MAFS UK to further strengthen contributor welfare.
Heggessey found the protocols for MAFS UK were extensive, extremely thorough and of a high standard from which other productions in the industry have learnt. However, it also offered observations on the specific challenges associated with the MAFS UK format and made future-facing recommendations.
Heggessey found the expanded format of the show, introduced in 2021, increased its risk profile, with some format elements designed to heighten tension or conflict. She said some elements of the show could implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate.
She added that because the production handles most of the contributors’ daily lives and that contact with the outside world – family and friends in particular – is limited, contributors could become dependent on production and lose touch with reality, which can affect decision making.
The Heggessey review also found that despite extensive background checks and other enquiries, relevant information can be missed or withheld by applicants, only coming to light after filming starts. In addition, contributors’ motivations for participating in the show may vary significantly and the primary motivation may not always align with the programme’s central premise of seeking a long-term romantic partner.
Despite this, the Heggessey review concluded it would be reasonable to continue to produce future series of MAFS UK with a raft of recommended changes to the format, including separate bedrooms in the honeymoon phase and the removal of format elements like the couple-swap week and intimacy week.
It was also recommended that if one person chooses to leave the show then the couple exits the process. Currently, if one person chooses to stay the couple continues in the process for another week.
Dogra, however, has elected to pull the plug on the show altogether.
“The wholesale implementation of the review’s recommendations, whilst feasible, would entail a materially greater level of intervention, monitoring and supervision that would fundamentally alter the format and editorial proposition of the programme. Taken together with the maturity of the programme, she decided that the right course was to bring MAFS UK on Channel 4 to an end,” C4 said in a statement this morning.
Season six of MAFS UK, which was in production at the time the incidents came to light, will not be broadcast. Second Married at First Sight (SMAFS), which was in pre-production with CPL before being paused during the review, will not resume production. Past seasons will not return to C4’s streaming service.
Dogra said: “Whilst the review praised the welfare protocols in place and made no findings that Channel 4 breached the Ofcom code or that the format is inherently unsafe, I have to consider when is the right time for Channel 4 to move on from a format.
“The recommendations are eminently sensible and feasible, but considering their wholesale implementation provoked fundamental questions about the editorial proposition of a show that, I believe, has now run its course over 10 years. Channel 4 has always thrived on reinvention and this is a moment to kickstart a new era of creative renewal, using the considerable budget to find the next generation of distinctive and disruptive British television.
“This review did not have the authority to adjudicate on the very serious allegations made by three women in the Panorama programme, but I would like to repeat that I am very sorry for the distress those women have clearly felt. I hope our actions – in swiftly commissioning the review and taking clear, decisive steps – demonstrate our commitment to the wellbeing of all contributors and our desire to relentlessly strengthen industry standards.”
Following the Panorama investigation, allegations that participants in the Australian version of the show – which C4 also airs in the UK – had not been informed of their partners’ criminal pasts also surfaced. https://www.c21media.net/news/married-at-first-sight-complaints-spread-to-australian-version-of-format/
Former BBC, C4 and Ofcom chief Michael Grade said at the time the incidents showed the boundaries of reality TV had been pushed too far and called for a reassessment.
