Married At First Sight UK was cancelled after contestants alleged they were raped while filming the British version of that programme.
Two women involved in the show alleged in May that they were sexually assaulted.
A third woman told a BBC documentary that she was victimised by her onscreen husband as well. The Independent reports that one of the men accused was arrested in June. All three men deny the claims against them.
Channel 4 confirmed in a press release published Nov 5 that the findings of “an external review of contributor welfare” led to the show’s cancellation. Authorities are said to be handling the adjudication of anyone who may have been involved in illegal conduct.
The network said that the show’s sixth season has already been filmed, but will not air. Channel 4’s website doesn’t currently offer any episodes for steaming on demand.
The internal investigation concluded that Married At First Sight’s” production team “implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate.”
It was also concluded that the nature of the production, which isolates contestants from friends and family while filming, could cause cast member to make poor choices.
“In addition, contributors’ motivations for participating in the show may vary significantly and the primary motivation may not always align with the programme’s central premise of seeking a long-term romantic partner,” the investigation further acknowledged.
The programme is billed as a “bold social experiment where single people, matched by experts, marry total strangers, who they meet for the very first time on their wedding day.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
