New Married At First Sight series still in edit despite ‘troubling’ allegations
Channel 4’s new chief executive, Priya Dogra, has said allegations surrounding Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK were “really hard to watch”, as the broadcaster weighs the future of the hit reality show while the next series remains in edit.
Dogra confirmed on Wednesday that no decision had yet been made on whether the upcoming season would air, despite the broadcaster removing previous episodes from streaming and linear services following a BBC Panorama investigation.
Chief content officer Ian Katz said the next series “has been substantially filmed and is currently in the edit”, with Channel 4 now waiting to see “what, if any, recommendations emerge from the review”.
The comments follow allegations made by three former contributors to the BBC.
Two women alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands during filming, while a third accused her partner of a non-consensual sex act. All three men deny the allegations.
“The content you’re after is really hard to watch. It’s hard to hear the women talking about their experiences,” Dogra told CityAM.
“Their distress is clear and for that I am, of course, deeply sorry.”
Dogra added that while Channel 4 believed it had “took the right decisions at the time”, she nevertheless wanted “a second look” at the broadcaster’s handling of complaints and welfare procedures.
Channel 4 launches welfare review
Channel 4 has commissioned an external review into contributor welfare on the show after what Dogra described as “serious allegations of wrongdoing”.
The review, led in part by law firm Clyde & Co and former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey, will examine both the broadcaster’s handling of historical complaints and whether the format itself requires stronger safeguarding protocols going forward.
“What I can do and have done is to commission an external review,” Dogra said. “The review is intended to have a rigorous look at both aspects.”
Married at First Sight UK, produced by CPL, has become one of Channel 4’s most commercially important entertainment franchises, drawing audiences of more than three million viewers across E4 and streaming platforms.
Dogra said the broadcaster had removed MAFS episodes from platforms “out of an abundance of caution”, partly to avoid speculation that could lead to the identification of women featured in the Panorama programme.
The controversy has intensified political pressure on the broadcaster, with MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee writing to both Channel 4 and Ofcom over the allegations.
Katz defended Channel 4’s actions based on the information available during production, saying the broadcaster had “ensured that women involved were kept safe when any issues were raised to us”.
However, he acknowledged there was “a gap” between editorial decisions taken at the time and how some contributors now feel about their experiences on the programme.”
“When people participate in one of our shows and come out feeling that they haven’t been taken care of, I think that’s a failure,” Katz added.