Rape allegations on the British version of the popular reality television series Married at First Sight have forced a major U.K. broadcaster to pull every episode of the 10-season-long show and issue a public apology amid an investigation sanctioned by the channel’s executives.
Channel 4, the U.K. platform which airs the show, announced an external welfare review earlier this month after two female participants on the show told the BBC they were raped by the men they married during filming.
A third woman accused her on-screen husband of a non-consensual sexual act, the British news outlet said.
The U.K. news agency, in a lengthy report published last week, found that the broadcaster was aware of some of the allegations before the program — one of Channel 4’s most popular — aired; the production is being accused of not doing enough to protect the individuals in question, despite their reporting of the alleged incidents to welfare staff during production.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
Channel 4 said in the statement announcing the review that “concerns related to contributor welfare were raised through existing welfare and production protocols, prompt and appropriate action was taken.”
“Channel 4 strongly refutes any claim to the contrary,” it added, saying it had “removed all episodes from streaming and linear services,” as well as from the program’s social channels, and that it was taking the accusations seriously.
The accusations were first presented in April to Channel 4 “against a small number of past contributors,” which the broadcaster says those cast members have denied.
“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,” the statement says.
A view of branding at the ‘Married At First Sight’ photocall at Vue Leicester Square on Sept. 10, 2024, in London, England.
Simon Ackerman/Getty Images
The three women mentioned in the BBC’s report, only one of whom has been publicly identified, told the outlet they did not report the alleged incidents to the authorities, though the London Metropolitan Police are urging them to do so, it said.
“It’s not likely that anything will happen,” one of the women, who said she reported her on-screen husband to welfare staff after she alleges he assaulted her in her sleep, told the BBC.
Another woman said her on-screen husband shared with her in private that he and his ex-partner had been violent towards each other, which she told the BBC she divulged to the show’s welfare team.
When her on-screen husband spoke to welfare producers, he said he was the victim of violence, according to the news outlet’s report.
The woman told producers she did not feel worried, but later said sex between her and her on-screen husband became violent, and that he would bruise her and refuse to listen when he asked her to stop. She said he threatened to throw acid on her if she told anyone what he had done, the agency added.
The popular TV show format, which originated in the Netherlands and has countless localized versions, including 19 U.S. seasons, pairs strangers matched by the show’s “experts” who immediately marry and move in together, with the progression of their relationships documented over the course of a season.
In the U.K. version of the show, the marriages are not legally binding.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
