Rape allegations made by women who appeared on Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK are “very serious and concerning”, a former Channel 4 chief executive has said.
Alex Mahon said launching an investigation was “the right thing” to do and the seriousness of the allegations meant current protocols around ensuring reality TV programmes met their duty of care to participants would need to be reviewed to ensure “enough is being done”.
A BBC Panorama episode that aired on Monday evening documented accusations from three contestants about their time on the reality TV show. Two women alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while a third woman accused her on-screen husband of taking things too far during sex.
The show, which is produced for Channel 4 by the independent production company CPL, features single people being matched by experts and then “marrying”, with the couples meeting for the first time on their wedding day.
Mahon was asked about the documentary while appearing before MPs on the culture, media and sport committee (CMS) on Tuesday. She told the committee: “Obviously, I’m no longer at Channel 4 but I watched the programme last night. There are some very serious and concerning allegations in it.
“I think the right thing for them to do is to launch an investigation. I think, in fact, they’ve announced two investigations, a legal one and a duty of care protocols one, and then we should see what those investigations come up with and act on any findings.”
Channel 4 has removed all seasons of MAFS UK from its streaming platform after what it said were “very serious allegations”. The broadcaster also announced that in April it had commissioned an external review of contributor welfare.
“In April, Channel 4 was presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing against a small number of past contributors, allegations that we understand those contributors have denied,” Channel 4 said in a statement on Monday. “The channel is mindful of the privacy and continuing duty of care towards all contributors and cannot comment on or disclose details of those allegations.
“Related to those allegations, Channel 4 was asked to respond to claims of failures in welfare protocols. Channel 4 believes that when concerns related to contributor welfare were raised through existing welfare and production protocols, prompt and appropriate action was taken, based on the information available at the time. Channel 4 strongly refutes any claim to the contrary.”
In a statement to the BBC, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “All allegations must be referred to the appropriate authorities and investigated with the full cooperation of those involved, with action taken to ensure that the highest standards are upheld and there are consequences for criminality or wrongdoing.”
None of the women the BBC spoke to had taken their allegations to the police, it was reported.
Lawyers for CPL told the BBC that its welfare system was “gold standard” and that it had acted appropriately.
Priya Dogra, the Channel 4 chief executive, told the BBC: “On the claims that Channel 4 may have failed in its duty of care, I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.”
Channel 4 said MAFS UK was produced under “some of the most comprehensive and robust welfare protocols in the industry”, including background checks, a code of conduct setting out behavioural standards and “daily contributor check-ins with a specialist welfare team”.
The chair of the culture committee, Caroline Dinenage, told the BBC that MAFS UK had felt almost like “an accident waiting to happen”.
“It’s a TV show that almost expects and anticipates people that have only just met each other will have to become really quite intimate with each other,” she said. “They’re expected to share a bed and a life together within minutes of meeting – it almost feels like an accident waiting to happen.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Dinenage added: “Clearly, the programme was deeply shocking.” She went on: “I guess what surprised me most was how unsurprised I was by what it revealed, given … that these are couples that get married without having met each other before, and then immediately have to assume a life as a married couple.
“They go on honeymoon, they share a bed, and in this kind of bubble of intimacy under the glare of a TV camera. In the cold light of day, it really is quite horrifying, isn’t it?”
The security minister, Dan Jarvis, told BBC Breakfast he was “extremely concerned”. “These are shocking and deeply concerning allegations and of course they must be very thoroughly investigated,” he said.
