Channel 4 has cancelled Married at First Sight UK following an external review triggered by serious allegations of sexual misconduct, including rape claims made by two former female contestants during the filming of the reality television programme.
The broadcaster announced on Thursday, November 5, that the popular dating reality show would not return, bringing its 10-year run to an end.
The decision follows a BBC Panorama investigation broadcast in May, in which two women alleged that they had been raped by their on-screen husbands during filming. A third woman also accused her television partner of subjecting her to a non-consensual sexual act.
One of the women told the BBC that her former on-screen husband had also threatened her with an acid attack. Another said she had informed Channel 4 and the show’s production company, CPL Productions, about the alleged rape before episodes featuring her were broadcast.
The men accused of the offences have denied the allegations.
Following the investigation, Channel 4 removed previous seasons of the programme from its streaming platforms and commissioned an independent review into the welfare of contestants and how complaints were handled during production.
The review, conducted in two parts by law firm Clyde & Co and former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, examined the broadcaster’s existing safeguarding procedures and the measures needed to protect participants.
Clyde & Co found that Channel 4 and CPL’s welfare protocols complied with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. However, the review identified isolated incidents where the existing welfare framework had not been fully implemented and recommended improvements.
The second review, led by Heggessey, described the programme’s welfare safeguards as extensive and of a high standard. It also recommended further changes to strengthen protections for contestants.
However, Channel 4 Chief Executive Priya Dogra said implementing the recommendations would require greater intervention, monitoring and supervision, fundamentally changing the programme’s format.
She said the broadcaster had decided that the show had run its course after a decade and that its budget would instead support the development of new television programmes.
Dogra also apologised to the three women who made allegations during the BBC investigation, acknowledging the distress they had experienced.
The broadcaster clarified that neither review was mandated to establish the truth of the allegations, which remain matters for the relevant authorities.
The cancellation also affects the sixth series, which had already been filmed but will not be broadcast because it was produced before the recommended safeguarding changes were introduced. The planned spin-off, Second Married at First Sight, has also been scrapped following the safeguarding review.
