Channel 4 boss apologizes over Married At First Sight sexual misconduct allegations

Channel 4’s chief executive Priya Dogra apologized for the distress of female contestants on Married At First Sight who have made allegations of rape and sexual misconduct, while defending the broadcaster’s handling of their concerns.

Dogra said she believed the channel acted appropriately at the time, but has commissioned an external review to ensure the show’s safety for participants.

She spoke as a committee of British lawmakers demanded answers from Channel 4 and media regulator Ofcom over what they called “horrifying allegations” about the reality series.

An edition of the BBC’s Panorama program aired allegations by two women — who remain anonymous — that they were raped by their on-screen husbands on Married At First Sight UK. A third participant, Shona Manderson, accused her on-screen husband of taking things too far during sex. All three men deny the claims.

The BBC has since been contacted by several former MAFS UK cast members raising concerns, according to its culture and media editor Katie Razzall.

The Metropolitan Police reiterated an appeal for anyone with historical allegations of abuse during the show to come forward and said officers are in contact with Channel 4 and CPL, the independent production company that produces MAFS.

“We are ready to listen to them, we are ready to investigate,” said Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist.

The show pairs singles matched by experts who “marry” and meet for the first time on their wedding day.

Speaking at Channel 4’s annual report, Dogra said that while she believes the broadcaster acted appropriately, she ordered external reviews as a “second look” because she only took up her role in March.

“I have watched the programme and heard the women’s accounts, which are very troubling,” she said. “Their distress is clear, and for that I am, of course, deeply sorry.”

“Welfare across all our programmes is hugely important to us, and is a primary concern,” Dogra added. “However, I’m sure you, you’ll appreciate that Channel Four cannot investigate the specific allegations against the men – which they have denied – nor can I comment on them in any way. We are a broadcaster, not an adjudicator, and allegations of this type are investigated by other bodies, including when complaints are raised by the police.”

“I do believe that a handling of concerns raised at the time was appropriate, but as I took up the role only recently, I wanted this looked at again,” she said.

Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said: “I am very confident that, based on the knowledge that we had at the time, that we made the right decisions, that we ensured that women involved were kept safe when any issues were raised to us, that we gave them the appropriate support – and that we took the right decisions through the production process and beyond that.”

“But obviously these are serious allegations, and it’s clearly right to take a second look at them and make sure that we got it right at the time and more importantly to look at whether there’s anything we need to learn about how to make the show in future,” Katz added.

Former Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon has described the rape allegations as “very serious and concerning.”

Lawmakers on the Commons culture select committee have written to Channel 4 about its handling and to Ofcom about its involvement and the timeline for launching its own investigation.

“The horrifying allegations about Married at First Sight raise serious concerns over whether enough is being done to protect people taking part in reality television,” said Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative chair of the committee.

“Both Channel 4 and Ofcom, as the broadcasting regulator, have urgent questions to answer,” Dinenage said.