“Married at First Sight” U.K. has been canceled following allegations of sexual assault on the show, broadcaster Channel 4 confirmed today.
Based on an Australian format, the series sees experts match two single strangers who meet for the first time on their wedding day before immediately moving in together.
Earlier this year a BBC investigation by documentary strand “Panorama” alleged there had been three instances of sexual assault during the U.K. version of the series, which is produced for Channel 4 by production company CPL. One man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of rape. All the men accused have denied the allegations.
Season 6, which has already been filmed, will
Season 6, which has already been filmed, will not be broadcast and the spin-off series “Second Married at First Sight,” which was in pre-production when the allegations broke with casting due to take place over the summer, has also been canceled. Previous seasons of the show have since been removed from Channel 4’s streaming platforms although international versions are still available.
Following the investigation, Channel 4 commissioned two separate reviews, which have now concluded. The first, by law firm Clyde & Co, examined whether welfare protocols sufficiently fulfilled Channel 4’s duty of care obligations as set out by media regulator Ofcom. The second review was conducted by former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey to determine whether changes to the show would “strengthen contributor welfare.”
Channel 4 CEO Priya Dogra, who was appointed just a few months before the allegations came to light, has now said that while both reviews effectively clear Channel 4 of wrongdoing, the changes Heggessey proposed to strengthen welfare protocols – such as 24/7 recording and housing paricipants in separate bedrooms on their wedding night – would make it too onerous to continue. The show’s budget will instead be re-invested in other shows.
Whilst the review praised the welfare protocols
“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,” Dogra said in a statement. “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 ten 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.”
Ofcom has launched its own investigation into the show concerning “fairness and privacy.”
