Channel 4 has announced that Married at First Sight UK will not return to screens following a review of welfare procedures on the show. The independent investigation was initiated after two women claimed they were raped by their on-screen matches during filming of the show.
The reality show, which first aired in 2015, sees single contestants agree to “marry” strangers after being matched by dating experts, with them meeting for the first time on their wedding day before spending the next few months getting to know one another. The show is produced by Channel 4 and independent production company CPL.
In May, two women who appeared on the show told the BBC’s Panorama that they were raped during filming, while a third accused her onscreen husband of sexual misconduct.
Now, the findings of the external review into contributor welfare protocols have revealed that while it could continue if adjustments were made, the format of the series meant that some contestants could “lose touch with reality” due to limited contact with the outside world. It also found that some elements of the format “could implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate”.
In a statement on Thursday (5 November), Channel 4 announced that it had decided not to continue airing the show despite the review finding that it would be reasonable to continue producing it with enhancements to the existing safeguarding framework.
Channel 4’s chief executive Priya Dogra said that while the review did not find that Channel 4 had breached the Ofcom Code or that the format was inherently unsafe, she felt that the MAFS UK had “run its course over 10 years”.
“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,” she continued. “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.”
The review was conducted in two parts, with law firm Clyde & Co investigating whether the welfare protocols in place fulfilled Channel 4’s duty of care obligations under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, and former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey assessing whether changes should be made to the current welfare protocols. More than 31,000 documents and 20 hours of broadcast and unbroadcast footage were looked at by the teams, who also conducted interviews with relevant individuals from Channel4, CPL and the contributors.
While Heggessey suggested that the show could continue if adjustments were made, she found that contributors could become “dependent on production and lose touch with reality” due to their contact with the outside world and their family being limited, which could affect their decision-making.
She also found that some format elements support relationship development between the couples, but others “heighten tension or conflict and consequently the risk profile of the show” and that some elements “could implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate”. Meanwhile, extensive background checks of the contestants didn’t pick up on information “missed or withheld by applicants” that came to light after the show started filming, and that the involvement of Channel 4 had sometimes led to a “lack of objective scrutiny” over production decisions.
As for Clyde & Co’s review, the law firm ruled that contributor welfare framework in place at relevant times “was compliant with the Code” but found areas where it considered the framework “could be further strengthened”. It highlighted that there were a small number of cases where the protocols had not been fully applied, including a time when the rules “relating to prohibited substances” were broken – with those concerned being given “a first and final warning rather than being removed from the programme”.
The reviews delivered a number of recommendations for MAFS UK which would result in significant parts of the format being scrapped – including the removal of Intimacy Week and Partner Swap Week, and allowing contestants to leave the process even if their partner chooses to stay (as per the rules of the show, if both partners want to leave, they can, but if one chooses to stay, they both must give their relationship another go).
Channel 4 was also given recommendations to separate couples on their wedding night and during their honeymoon trips (most share a room despite having just met), reducing the number of participating couples, allowing contestants to return home unsupervised or keep their mobile phones and to install CCTV in all the couples’ apartments, as well as panic buttons and bathroom locks.
Dogra revealed that the budget used on MAFS UK would be reinvested into new programming and thanked the teams behind the show for their work over the years.
“MAFS UK has been enjoyed by millions of viewers, made possible by the willingness of its contributors to embrace the social experiment at the heart of the show and the many talented people involved in its production,” she said. “I am grateful to everyone at Channel 4 and CPL Productions who has worked on the show and want to thank them for their significant efforts to protect the welfare of contributors, something which was recognised in both reviews.”
The forthcoming series of MAFS UK, which had been filmed, will not be broadcast, with Channel 4 explaining that it was not made under the recommended strengthened protocols.
MAFS Australia, another popular edition of the global franchise, is not affected by the review and is due to return in 2027.
Read MoreChannel 4 viewers thought they’d tuned into a game show – it was actually much darker
Channel 4 to recreate Nazi conditions for disabled people in new TV experiment
Bradley Walsh’s new game show confuses fans who speculate it’s a hoax
What Channel 4’s deal with Disney+ means for viewers and shows like Bake Off
Court rules ER and The Pitt have ‘clear similarities’ as legal battle continues
How a Christmas party inspired Joe Barton to write Black Doves in just six days
