‘Married at First Sight UK’ not cancelled, says Channel 4 Chief
Channel 4’s newly appointed CEO Priya Dogra provided an update on Wednesday on the scandal surrounding the British version of the hit reality show ‘Married at First Sight’ – also known as ‘MAFS UK’, but denied reports that the show had been cancelled.
In the series, singles – matched by ‘experts’ – ‘marry’ strangers they meet for the first time on their wedding day. They then live together. It is produced for Channel 4 by independent production company CPL.
An exposé of BBC’s investigative program ‘Panorama’, entitled ‘The Dark Side of Married at First Sight’, which aired on Monday, alleged that two participants, or ‘wives’, were raped and another was subjected to a non-consensual sex act by their on-screen ‘husbands’. One woman also claimed that her “husband” told her “he would ask someone to throw acid at me” if she told anyone about it.
The men have denied the allegations. The women did not report their allegations to police.
Channel 4 announced on Monday that it had commissioned an external investigation into the wealth of contributors to ‘Married at First Sight’ in April.
Presenting the broadcaster’s annual report, Dogra said: “There have been some reports […] that the show has been canceled. These are completely inaccurate. No decision has yet been made about the broadcast of [the next season of the show]and any decision we make will only be made after the review has been completed.”
Regarding the upcoming season (the sixth in the current format), outgoing Chief Content Officer Ian Katz said: “That has largely been filmed and is currently in editing, and obviously we’ll see what, if any, recommendations emerge from the review if we get any.”
Asked if he was aware of the allegations when they were made, Katz said: “I was aware of some of them, and I was involved in the decision-making about them, and by the way, based on everything I know and the information we had, I think we made the right decisions.”
Dogra said of “Panorama”: “I watched the program and heard the stories of the women, which are very disturbing. Their distress is clear, and of course I am deeply sorry for that.”
She added: “Welfare across all our programs is hugely important to us and is a primary concern. However, I am sure you will understand that Channel 4 cannot investigate the specific allegations against the men, which they have denied, and I cannot comment on them in any way. We are a broadcaster, not a jury, and these types of allegations are investigated by other agencies, including where complaints are made by police.”
When asked by a journalist what “her feelings were as a woman” watching “Panorama,” Dogra said, “It was very difficult to watch. It’s difficult to hear the women talk about their experiences, and what I did in response to that, not only that, but well before that, was to look at our interactions and, as we said, I really believe we made the right decisions at the time, but I want to look at it again, and so that was my response to that, which was, ‘This is really difficult to see’. and like I said, I’m sorry for the women’s suffering.
The external assessment of the show consists of two elements. The first, carried out by law firm Clyde & Co, examines the welfare protocols in place on the show at the time the claims were made, as well as Channel 4 and CPL’s handling of those claims.
In addition, Channel 4 has commissioned former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey to investigate whether changes should be made to the current protocols for “Married at First Sight” to boost contributor welfare.
All previous seasons of the British version of “Married at First Sight” have been removed from Channel 4’s streaming and linear services, as well as the show’s social channels.
