The UK production of reality show Married At First Sight is in further crisis after a scandal surrounded alleged sexual assaults made it’s away all the way to 10 Downing Street.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Sir Keir Stramer has said the claims engulfing Married At First Sight UK (MAFS) were “extremely concerning” and must be investigated, with consequences where “wrongdoing or criminality is found”.
A BBC Panorama investigation aired earlier this week with allegations that two women had been raped during filming of the reality TV series. which is aired on UK broadcaster Channel 4, with a third alleging that she was the victim of a non-consensual sex act.
The three women also claimed that the show did not do enough to protect them.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Sir Keir weighed in on the controversy.
“These are extremely concerning and serious allegations,” the PM’s spokesman said.
“It’s right that Channel 4 has commissioned an external review and that all allegations are referred to the appropriate authorities and investigated with the full co-operation of those involved.
“Where wrongdoing or criminality is found there must be consequences and appropriate action taken to ensure it can never happen again.”
The UK’s Security Minister Dan Jarvis had earlier spoken about the situation, describing it as “very serious” and joining calls for a joint investigation by Channel 4 and the show’s production company, CPL Productions, into the accusations.
“I would also say given the very serious nature of these allegations, I think it’s highly likely that there will be a referral to the police and it will be a police matter for them to investigate,” he said.
‘Allowing harm’
The MAFS franchise first launched in Denmark in 2013 has become a phenomenon with over 35 localised versions produced around the world, including the hugely popular Australian edition.
The format, billed as a “bold social experiment” sees single people agree to “marry” total strangers after first meeting at faux weddings.
While the vows may not be not legally binding, cameras follow the “newlyweds” go on “honeymoon” and then move in together while being counselled through the early stages of the relationship.
MAFS UK regularly attracts more than three million viewers, making it one of Channel 4’s most profitable shows.
The allegations about rape surfaced this week – along with the claim that Channel 4 – was aware of some of them before the season went to air.
All of the episodes which featured the women behind the claims were available on its streaming service up until Monday this week when the BBC investigation was made public.
One woman claimed that her on-screen “husband” had raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.
A second woman said she told both Channel 4 and CPL about being allegedly sexually assaulted by her partner – but that her episodes were still aired anyway.
The only woman identified in the Panorama program was Shona Manderson, who accused her “husband” on the show, Bradley Skelly, of ejaculating inside her without her consent.
While calling for better protection of MAFS participants in the program, one of the women added that she wanted the show’s production company to stop “allowing harm to come to people”.
All three men accused of wrongdoing have denied the allegations, and none of the accusations have been reported to the police.
‘Extremely concerned’
On Tuesday, Channel 4’s former CEO, Alex Mahon, who was in charge at the network during the period when the MAFS allegations originated, said that the matter was “very serious and concerning”. She threw her support behind the network’s decision to conduct a probe.
Ms Mahon was speaking during a prearranged appearance in UK parliament, during which she was giving evidence to the culture, media and support committee of MPs about the BBC’s future.
“I think the right thing for them to do is to launch an investigation … and then we should see what those investigations come up with and act on the findings,” she said, before responding to questions about whether more needed to be done.
“The industry is always trying to evolve and take allegations or incidents very seriously.
“The duty of care protocols, therefore, do advance all the time but it’s always worth another look, especially in this case as they are quite serious allegations, to make sure enough was done and enough is being done, and that protocols are evolving in the appropriate way.”
‘Element of risk’
The chair of the committee, British MP Caroline Dinenage, told the BBC that appearing on MAFS did bring an “element of risk”.
“It’s a TV show that almost expects and anticipates people that have only just met will have to become really quite intimate with each other,” she told BBC Radio 4.
“They’re expected to share a bed and a life together within minutes of meeting – it almost feels like an accident waiting to happen.”
Immediate fallout
Shortly after the allegations surfaced, MAFS UK took a financial hit, with giant European holiday company Tui confirming to the BBC that it was pausing its sponsorship.
It comes as both Channel 4 and CPL have said this week that welfare protocols were followed.
The British network is now examining the allegations more closely after previously commissioning an external review into the matter last month when the “serious allegations of wrongdoing” surfaced.
Channel 4’s chief executive, Priya Dogra, said she believed they had “acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre” when the accusations were first raised, which were disputed by those accused.
“The channel is mindful of the privacy and continuing duty of care towards all contributors, and cannot comment on or disclose details of those allegations,” a statement read.
“Related to those allegations, Channel 4 was asked to respond to claims of failures in welfare protocols. Channel 4 believes that when concerns related to contributor welfare were raised through existing welfare and production protocols, prompt and appropriate action was taken, based on the information available at the time.
“Channel 4 strongly refutes any claim to the contrary.”
Meanwhile, lawyers for CPL insisted it had acted appropriately in all cases, calling its procedures “gold standard”.
What next?
With the scandal casting a dark cloud over the hugely popular series, it’s not yet clear whether the next season – which has already been filmed – will go to air.
It’s expected to premiere in the coming months, but there is currently no indication of whether that will go ahead in the wake of the shocking allegations.
Meanwhile, the Australian version of the show is still available to stream on Channel 4’s service.