MPs voice ‘serious concerns’ over reality TV contributors’ welfare amid Married at First Sight UK scandal
The Married at First Sight format was created by Snowman Productions
A group of MPs on the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee have written to Channel 4 and media regulator Ofcom raising “serious concerns” about the welfare of participants in Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK.
The MPs asked for answers about what they describe as “horrifying” allegations relating to the reality show that have emerged this week.
C4 removed all seasons of MAFS UK from its streaming platforms ahead of the BBC’s Panorama exposé The Dark Side of Married at First Sight on Monday.
In the programme, two former participants said they were raped by their on-screen partners while on the show and a third alleged sexual assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the CMS Committee, said: “The horrifying allegations about Married at First Sight raise serious concerns over whether enough is being done to protect people taking part in reality television.
“Both Channel 4 and Ofcom, as the broadcasting regulator, have urgent questions to answer.”
No decision will be made on the future of MAFS UK until the external review into contributor welfare on the reality show has been completed, C4 CEO Priya Dogra said at a media briefing on the broadcaster’s 2025 financial results this morning.
Dogra said a report that the show had been cancelled and its already filmed 11th season will not air is “wholly inaccurate” during the briefing, held at the broadcaster’s London headquarters, which was dominated by questions from reporters about the controversy.
The exec, who became CEO at the beginning of the year, said there would be no decision on the future of the show until an external review had been completed later this summer.
Having been made aware of the claims in April, Dogra commissioned an external review, conducted by law firm Clyde & Co, to examine the welfare protocols in place on the show at the time claims were raised, as well as the handling of those claims by C4 and the show’s producer CPL.
Alongside that, former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey has been brought in to examine if any changes should be made to current protocols for MAFS UK to further strengthen contributor welfare.
Former Warner Bros Discovery exec Dogra said all episodes had been removed from C4’s streaming service to avoid “jigsaw identification” of the people involved, to whom she expressed her sympathy.
In a statement on Monday, Dogra said the “very serious allegations” are “not something that Channel 4 is in a position to adjudicate on,” and added that she felt the broadcaster responded “quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.”
CPL has described its contributor welfare system as “gold standard” and industry-leading, asserting that it acts appropriately and takes care of all participants.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police are encouraging “anyone who believes they have been a victim of sexual assault” after participating on the show to contact them, something Dogra encouraged.
According to the BBC, the MPs’ letter to C4 asks the broadcaster about the complaints process for contestants on the programme, the steps taken to ensure the allegations were fully investigated and the review announced by the broadcaster.
It also asks about C4’s approach to duty of care to participants on its other reality TV programmes.
The committee’s letter to Ofcom, meanwhile, asks about the regulator’s role in the complaints process, its powers to investigate potential breaches of the broadcasting code, and the timeline for launching its own investigation into the MAFS allegations.
