Two women allege they were raped during filming of Married at First Sight UK

"Two women have alleged they were raped during the filming of Married at First Sight UK, one of Channel 4's biggest shows, and a third alleged she was subjected to a non-consensual sex act. The show did not do enough to protect them, the women told an edition of the BBC's Panorama outlining their allegations. The programme alleged Channel 4 was aware of some allegations before broadcast and that the episodes featuring the women involved had been available on its streaming service until recently."

"On Monday afternoon, Channel 4 said it had removed all episodes from streaming and linear services, alongside Married at First Sight UK social channels. In the reality show, known as MAFS, single people marry strangers who they meet for the first time on their wedding day, though the marriages are not legally binding. Channel 4 said it was presented with serious allegations in April against a small number of past contributors, which it understood were denied by those contributors."

"Channel 4 strongly refutes any claim to the contrary, it said. Lawyers for CPL, the independent production company that makes the UK version of the show for Channel 4, told the BBC that its welfare protocols for contributors were gold standard and that it acted appropriately in all these cases. According to the Panorama report, one woman said her onscreen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack. She alleged that sex with her onscreen husband soon turned violent and she kept saying stop."

"She told Panorama she had been too scared to tell anyone. He said that if I told anybody what had happened, that he would get someone to throw acid at me, she said. Lawyers acting for the woman's onscreen husband told the BBC he denies rape. Lawyers for CPL said the woman did not tell the company about her partner saying she can't say no to"

Two women alleged they were raped during filming of Married at First Sight UK, and a third alleged a non-consensual sex act. The women said the show did not do enough to protect them and described their allegations to BBC Panorama. Panorama reported that Channel 4 had awareness of some allegations before broadcast and that episodes featuring the women had been available on its streaming service until recently. Channel 4 removed all episodes from streaming and linear services and removed Married at First Sight UK social channels. Channel 4 said it received serious allegations in April about a small number of past contributors, understood they were denied, and claimed prompt action was taken when welfare concerns were raised. CPL said its welfare protocols were gold standard and that it acted appropriately. One woman alleged her onscreen husband raped her, threatened an acid attack, and that she was too scared to tell anyone; the husband’s lawyers denied rape.

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