‘Married at First Sight’ Canceled in the U.K. Amid Sexual Assault Allegations
What To Know
- The United Kingdom version of Married at First Sight has been canceled.
- The decision came after BBC investigated three allegations of sexual assault on the show.
- All of the men accused have denied the claims.
Married at First Sight has been canceled in the United Kingdom, Channel 4 announced on November 5. The show, which ran from 2015 to 2025, has been at the center of sexual assault allegations since May, when the BBC’s documentary program Panorama released an episode called “The Dark Side of Married at First Sight.”
The upcoming season of the show has already been filmed, but will not air. A spinoff called Second Married at First Sight was in pre-production when the Panorama episode came out, but has also been canceled. Channel 4’s streaming platforms are also no longer carrying previous seasons of the show.
Panorama’s expose included sexual assault allegations from two female cast members. A third woman alleged that a “non-consensual sex act” took place when she was on the show. The men involved have denied the allegations.
Channel 4 was cleared of wrongdoing in the subsequent official investigations. However, the network was urged to change some protocols moving forward. Suggestions included recording the contestants 24/7 and having the male and female contestants sleep in separate bedrooms on their wedding night. Instead, Channel 4 is getting rid of Married at First Sight and allocating the budget to other shows and potential new programs.
“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,” Channel 4 CEO Priya Dogra said, per Variety. “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 10 years.”
She added, “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.”
The cross-parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport committee is expected to hold an evidence session on Channel 4 on November 17.
Conversation
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.