Channel 4 has cancelled Married at First Sight UK after a decade on screens, following a major independent review into contestant welfare sparked by serious allegations involving former participants.
The broadcaster announced the decision on November 5, revealing the outcome of two separate reviews ordered by chief executive Priya Dogra.
The investigation into contestant welfare came after a BBC Panorama documentary featured two women who alleged they had been raped by their partners on the show. A third woman alleged a non-consensual sexual act. The three men involved have denied the allegations.
The reviews did not establish whether the allegations were true. Those matters remain for the relevant authorities to determine.
Married at First Sight UK cancelled by Channel 4
The decision to axe Married at First Sight UK came after Channel 4 decided that introducing the recommended welfare safeguards would change the reality dating show’s format too dramatically.
According to Dogra, the proposed improvements would mean a substantial increase in the level of supervision, intervention and monitoring involved in making the programme.
While she acknowledged that such measures could be introduced, she ultimately felt the time had come to say goodbye to MAFS UK.
She called it “a show that, I believe, has now run its course over ten years”.
The decision to cancel the programme was not a recommendation made by the reviewers themselves. They had found that MAFS UK could reasonably return, provided additional welfare protections were put in place.
What did the Married at First Sight UK welfare investigation uncover?
Legal firm Clyde & Co investigated the welfare arrangements operated by Channel 4 and production company CPL, including their response to concerns raised under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
Investigators concluded that the existing procedures met the requirements of the Code. They also found no breaches in how concerns had been dealt with at the time.
That did not mean there was no room for improvement, however.
The review highlighted individual instances in which established welfare procedures had not been followed in full. It also identified aspects of the wider contributor welfare framework that could benefit from further strengthening.
It was an extensive investigation, involving the examination of 31,172 documents, 20 hours of footage both broadcast and unaired, as well as interviews.
Meanwhile, former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey carried out a second review, focusing on what additional protections could be introduced.
She found the existing welfare arrangements to be extensive, thorough and of a high standard. Her assessment was that the programme could reasonably return for further series if extra safeguards and changes to the format were introduced.
In a separate development, broadcasting regulator Ofcom has confirmed it is investigating a fairness and privacy complaint relating to Married at First Sight UK.
Will Channel 4 show the next series of Married at First Sight UK?
Fans hoping to see one final series of Married at First Sight UK are set for disappointment, as Channel 4 has confirmed the upcoming instalment will not make it to television.
Filming was already underway when the broadcaster ordered its welfare review. However, the series had not been produced using the enhanced safeguards later proposed by the reviewers.
Channel 4 has also scrapped Second Married at First Sight, the spin-off which had been put on hold while in pre-production with CPL.
Read more: Married At First Sight UK groom arrested over ‘rape’ following bombshell documentary
Channel 4 now plans to redirect the funding previously earmarked for MAFS UK towards fresh programmes created by independent production companies across Britain.
The broadcaster also plans to make the review’s recommendations available to other television networks, with the aim of improving the protection of reality TV contributors more widely.
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