Married At First Sight spin-off remains in pre-production, Channel 4 says
By Laura Harding and Carla Feric, Press Association
Channel 4 has said its Married At First Sight (MAFS) spin-off show remains in pre-production amid allegations of rape and sexual assault made by contestants on the main series.
The broadcaster announced the launch of Second Marriage At First Sight in February, which hopes to bring together contestants from the UK and Australian version of the show for a second chance at love.
The spin-off series remains in the early stages of production, despite the main show facing controversy after accusations by former contestants in a BBC Panorama documentary.
Former participant Shona Manderson accused her on-screen partner of sexual misconduct while filming the Channel 4 show, and two other anonymous women alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, during the documentary.
All three men deny the allegations.
In a statement to the Press Association, a spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “Whilst we’re in pre-production, we’ve not yet begun filming on Second Marriage At First Sight.
“Any findings from our review will be incorporated into the production.”
The news comes as Tui Group announced on Thursday that it had ended its sponsorship of the UK and Australian versions of the show.
A spokesperson for Tui UK and Ireland said: “Following the broadcast of the Panorama programme and discussion with Channel 4, we have taken the decision to end our sponsorship of Married At First Sight.”
The travel operator also said that it had paused its sponsorship of the two versions of the reality show on Monday, after the accusations in Panorama.
A spokesperson from Channel 4 called the travel operator a “valued sponsor” of the programme, adding: “We look forward to discussing future partnerships.”
Chief executive of Ofcom Dame Melanie Dawes said the allegations have raised “really serious concerns” and that the regulator is prepared to tighten its guidance around reality shows if necessary.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, she was asked what responsibility the regulator takes after the claims made in Panorama.
Dame Melanie said: “What we always try to avoid is being really specific about ‘you can do this and you can’t do that’, because fundamentally the responsibility is with Channel 4 and its production company, or with ITV or BBC or whoever is producing these shows, to get this right.
“If they have not got this right, this is going to be a serious issue.
“It’s very live, but it does raise really serious concerns. If we need to tighten our guidance then we absolutely will.”
She continued: “Sometimes we do have these wake-up calls where, as a country, we just go, ‘This has gone too far’.”
Channel 4 launched a review into contributor welfare last month, shortly after being contacted by the BBC regarding the accusations featured in Panorama.
Channel 4 chief executive Priya Dogra has said reports that the show had been cancelled were “wholly inaccurate” and “no decision has been made” regarding the broadcast of the next series.
New episodes of MAFS UK have been “substantially filmed” and are currently being edited, according to the channel’s chief content officer, Ian Katz.
On Wednesday, MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote to Channel 4 and Ofcom about their response to allegations in the BBC documentary.
Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage said the accusations were “horrifying”, adding: “Both Channel 4 and Ofcom, as the broadcasting regulator, have urgent questions to answer.”
The letter to Channel 4 asks about its complaints process for contestants on the programme and the steps taken to ensure the allegations were fully investigated, along with the review announced by the broadcaster.
It also questions the broadcaster about its approach to duty of care to participants on its other reality TV programmes.
Police have urged potential victims of sexual assault on the TV show to get in touch.
