Channel 4's Married at First Sight has been removed from all streaming services after two newlyweds made allegations of sexual assault and rape. The reality show, which sees complete strangers get married after meeting each other for the first time, faces backlash after two women came forward to claim they had been raped by their on-screen "husbands".
It's been a long-running series that sees participants matched by relationship experts, but since the allegations, multiple departments from Channel 4 has held crisis talks. An email from the production company CPL reportedly instructed staff not to speak out in the wake of the claims.
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In a BBC Panorama investigation called The Dark Side of Married at First Sight, the women claim they should have had greater protection. Channel 4 said all the allegations are "wholly uncorroborated and disputed".
Channel 4 and CPL – the production company behind the series – have said the welfare protocols are robust and comprehensive.
In a statement, Channel 4 said: "We have not seen the programme and will comment when we know more."
In a statement sent to the Mirror, Priya Dogra, Chief Executive of Channel 4, said: "I want to express my sympathy to contributors who have clearly been distressed after taking part in Married at First Sight UK. The well-being of our contributors is always of paramount importance."
One participant of the programme, who did not wish to be identified, accused her husband of raping her and threatening her with an acid attack, and is now looking to pursue legal action against CPL.
"Lizzie", as she was named to maintain her anonymity, alleged her partner often lost his temper when the cameras were off.
Sex, she claimed, soon became violent and would leave her bruised even after she kept saying stop.
"He said that if I told anybody what had happened, he would get someone to throw acid at me," Lizzie alleged.
Describing one alleged attack, she said: "We were in our apartment, on the sofa, and he tried to have sex with me. And I kept saying no, that I didn’t want to do it.
"But he kept saying, 'You can’t say no, you’re my wife.' And he just did it anyway."
Lawyers for CPL told Panorama that Lizzie did not mention the "can’t say no" comment to its team, and the "acid" remark was mentioned as a passing comment, not a threat.
