Channel 4 Cancels 'Married at First Sight UK' After Welfare Review

Channel 4 said Thursday that Married at First Sight UK will not return. The broadcaster ended the reality show after 10 years, following an external review of how it looked after contestants.

The review followed a BBC Panorama investigation broadcast in May. Three former participants alleged sexual misconduct by the men they were partnered with on the show. Two women, who have not been named, alleged they were raped during filming. A third, Shona Manderson, accused her on-screen husband, Brad Skelly, of a non-consensual sex act. All three men deny the allegations.

Channel 4 commissioned two reviews in April, after the BBC first raised the allegations. Law firm Clyde & Co examined 31,172 documents and 20 hours of broadcast and unaired footage. It interviewed 15 people from Channel 4, production company CPL and the contributor group. It found the welfare protocols complied with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and found no breach in how the complaints were handled. It also found isolated incidents where the welfare framework was not fully implemented.

A second review, led by former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey, called the protocols “extensive, extremely thorough and of a high standard.” It said the show could continue with stronger welfare measures and changes to the format. Its recommendations included separate bedrooms for couples on their wedding night and honeymoon, CCTV and panic buttons in their apartments, and scrapping Intimacy Week and Partner Swap Week.

Channel 4 chief executive Priya Dogra said she would not take that route. “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,” she said. She said putting all of the recommendations in place would fundamentally change the show, and that it had “run its course.”

The show’s budget will go to new programmes from independent British producers, Channel 4 said. A new series that was already filmed will not be broadcast. It was not made under the protocols the review recommended. A planned spin-off, Second Married at First Sight, has also been cancelled.

The reviews did not rule on the allegations themselves. Dogra said she was “very sorry for the distress those women have clearly felt.” A police investigation into one cast member remains open, according to The Times. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, has opened its own investigation. No outcome has been reported.

Channel 4 pulled all past series from its streaming service in May, after the Panorama report. A sponsor also pulled out. The decision covers the UK version only. The format runs in other countries, including the United States and Australia.