Key facts
- Channel 4 Chief Executive Priya Dogra said welfare across its programmes was a primary concern.
- Dogra said implementing all the review's recommendations would fundamentally alter the show's format.
- The reviews were conducted by law firm Clyde & Co and former BBC executive Lorraine Heggessey.
- The show, in which strangers are matched by experts and "marry" at first sight, is part of an international franchise.
- Channel 4 removed all previous seasons of the show in May after a BBC report.
- Channel 4 reported its welfare protocols were found compliant with broadcasting codes, with isolated incidents of non-implementation.
Britain's Channel 4 said on Thursday that "Married at First Sight UK" would not return to screens following a review prompted by serious allegations of misconduct during the making of the hit reality show. The broadcaster said a review by law firm Clyde & Co found its welfare protocols complied with broadcasting codes, although there were isolated incidents where the welfare framework was not fully implemented. A second part of the review, by former BBC executive Lorraine Heggessey, found the protocols were "extensive, extremely thorough and of a high standard", Channel 4 said.
The broadcaster removed all previous seasons of the show in May after a BBC report detailed allegations of rape by two women during filming. The BBC reported in July that a cast member from the show had been arrested on suspicion of rape following its investigation.
The cancellation comes after more than a decade of broadcasting the format, with Channel 4's chief executive Priya Dogra saying welfare across its programmes was a primary concern. In July, the BBC reported a cast member had been arrested on suspicion of rape following its investigation. The BBC is the source of the rape allegations cited.
Channel 4 Chief Executive Priya Dogra said welfare across its programmes was a primary concern. "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. Implementing all of the review's recommendations would fundamentally alter the show's format, she said, adding that she believed it had "run its course" after 10 years.
A statement about the review's findings was issued by the broadcaster, which said its welfare protocols had been found to comply. The two parallel reviews were conducted by Clyde & Co and Lorraine Heggessey for Channel 4. The show, in which strangers are matched by experts and "marry" at first sight, is part of an international franchise across multiple countries, including the United States and Australia.
Channel 4 gave no date for when the show would come off air. The broadcaster's findings, announced with the cancellation, are that protocols were compliant, with isolated implementation gaps. The BBC first detailed the allegations in May and reported an arrest in July. The show has run for 10 years.