All three men deny the allegations.<\/p>\n
Asked for her reaction to the allegations, Dr Jo Hemmings told Channel 4 News: \u201cMy immediate reaction was that I don\u2019t think the series should have been broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy second reaction was probably that an investigation needs to be launched pretty urgently.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I suppose my third response was, where on earth in a pretty tight welfare system did that situation, how was it able to fall through the net, and that\u2019s something I don\u2019t have the answer to at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Shortly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ee598addc4c7a95e0efdf3a31487255a.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Shortly before the Panorama episode aired, Channel 4 announced it had commissioned an external review into contributor welfare last month (Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The show, which is produced for Channel 4 by independent production company, CPL, sees single people matched by experts and then \u201cmarry\u201d, with couples meeting for the first time on their wedding day.<\/p>\n
The \u201cmarriages\u201d on the show are not legally binding but the couples go on a \u201choneymoon\u201d and move in together after their weddings.<\/p>\n
Asked what she would have done had the allegations been raised with her during her time on the show, Dr Hemmings said she would have spoken to the producer, adding, \u201cmy absolute concern is always the welfare of the contributor, I\u2019m not really bothered about whether a show goes ahead or not\u201d.<\/p>\n
She went on to say that when she worked on the show there was a \u201cvery robust vetting procedure involved\u201d and added that if anyone was not \u201cresilient enough to go on the show\u201d they would not have been allowed on it, but said, \u201cyou can\u2019t be 100% sure in terms of predictability, how someone is going to behave\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dr Hemmings added: \u201cEvery reality TV series, barring perhaps The Traitors, that\u2019s gentle and kind, and we all enjoy it, doesn\u2019t have to be full of conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut people want to increase the level of controversy as series go on, and I think this is where the direction of travel is wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve got to bring it back to something, which is, for want of a better word, it\u2019s more wholesome.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want it traveling down a road, particularly when it evolves intimate relationships, where conflict, controversy, combative behaviour, becomes the name of the game. This is not the way reality TV should go.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes after police urged potential victims of sexual assault on the reality TV show to come forward, saying they had not received any criminal reports in relation to the allegations, and adding that police would be speaking to the relevant production teams.<\/p>\n
![\"Shona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f5b1657f4050e21757ba122172088f2f.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Shona Manderson, one of the women who has made accusations against her on-screen partner (Channel 4\/BBC)<\/p>\n
Ms Manderson\u2019s on-screen partner, Bradley Skelly, told Panorama he categorically denies \u201cany allegations of sexual misconduct, or that he was controlling\u201d.<\/p>\n
Channel 4 said in a statement released on Monday: \u201cIn April, Channel 4 was presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing against a small number of past contributors, allegations that we understand those contributors have denied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Manderson, the only woman of the three who is identified, appeared on the programme in 2023.<\/p>\n
Shortly before the Panorama episode aired, Channel 4 announced it had commissioned an external review into contributor welfare last month, which it expects to report in the coming months.<\/p>\n