Channel 4 confirms MAFS UK future as external review results released
Married At First Sight UK will not return (Channel 4)
Channel 4 has confirmed Married at First Sight UK will not return, though an external review found its welfare protocols to be “extremely thorough and of a high standard”.
The reality show, which sees strangers get fake married and then start their relationships from there, was hit by a number of serious sexual allegations by some previous participants, bringing the welfare protocols on the show into question. The allegations have been denied by the contributors they concerned.
In April, following the allegations which were broadcast on BBC’s Panorama, Channel 4 Chief Executive Priya Dogra commissioned an external review, which had two parts. Neither part of the review aimed to bring a judgement on the serious allegations, which remain with the relevant authorities.
Review into Married at First Sight UK
Law firm Clyde & Co looked at the welfare protocols which were in place at the time of the allegations, and how Channel 4 and production company CPL handled them.
Clyde & Co found that CPL’s welfare protocols were compliant with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, and that there were no findings of a breach of the Code in terms of how complaints were handled.
The firm noted that there were separate isolated incidents when the welfare framework was not fully implemented, and that Channel 4 and CPL could have done a more structured longer-term review across multiple series of the show. Recommendations were made to how contributor welfare framework could be strengthened more.
The second part of the review saw former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey examine how welfare protocols could be strengthened.
Heggessey’s review found the welfare protocols on the show were “extensive, extremely thorough and of a high standard from which other productions in the industry have learnt”, as per a Channel 4 release.
The review also made recommendations for the future of the show, concluding that with some changes in place, the show could continue.
Married at First Sight UK will not return
However, Dogra has confirmed the show will come to an end, as the recommendations from the review would change the format too much. Instead, the show’s budget will be allocated to commission new shows.
MAFS UK series six was in production at the time, and spin-off Second Married At First Sight was in pre-production. Both have been scrapped.
Dogra said: “I want to thank Lorraine Heggessey and Clyde & Co for their thorough and incisive work over the last few months. Welfare across all our programmes is a primary concern, so we welcome the review, its findings and recommendations.
“MAFS UK has been enjoyed by millions of viewers, made possible by the willingness of its contributors to embrace the social experiment at the heart of the show and the many talented people involved in its production. I am grateful to everyone at Channel 4 and CPL Productions who has worked on the show and want to thank them for their significant efforts to protect the welfare of contributors, something which was recognised in both reviews.
‘Channel 4 has always thrived on reinvention’
“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. 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.
“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.
“This review did not have the authority to adjudicate on the very serious allegations made by three women in the Panorama programme, but I would like to repeat that I am very sorry for the distress those women have clearly felt. I hope our actions – in swiftly commissioning the review and taking clear, decisive steps – demonstrate our commitment to the wellbeing of all contributors and our desire to relentlessly strengthen industry standards.”
Channel 4 has said it intends to share the learnings from the review with other broadcasters to encourage the industry to reinforce welfare protocols across reality television together.
