Married at First Sight rape allegations cast spotlight on welfare of contestants

The pressure to keep audiences glued to hit reality TV shows is leading to participants being put in increasingly risky and exploitative situations, according to a psychologist and executive who have both previously worked on Married at First Sight UK.

Two women have alleged they were raped during the filming of the show, which is one of Channel 4’s most popular and profitable programmes, and said not enough was done to protect them.

Channel 4 is conducting an external review into contributor welfare and has removed all episodes from its streaming service. Lawyers for the independent production company that makes the UK version have told the BBC that its welfare protocols are “gold standard”.

The behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings, who has previously worked on shows including MAFS UK and Big Brother, said that while duty of care standards are exceptionally high, reality shows have to keep upping the conflict and drama to keep attracting big audiences.

“Participants are in a bubble and quite vulnerable, they are thoroughly checked psychologically throughout the process,” said Hemmings. “Duty of care psychologists and welfare staff keep meticulous notes and reports all the way through filming. But the boundaries of entertainment are always being pushed for each series. They have to keep the audiences. The welfare teams are highly aware of this, but the more you push the boundaries, the more incidents might happen no matter what you do.”

MAFS UK sees single people embark on non-legally binding marriages to strangers. Couples are matched by experts, and meet for the first time on their mock wedding day. The first series aired in 2015, and was not the ratings hit the show proved to be in other markets.

Channel 4 moved to adopt the style of the hugely popular Australian version, which engineers high-tension situations by having regular group dinners and excursions, which has made the UK edition one of the broadcaster’s biggest shows.

“It was originally a very different kind of show, more like a documentary where relationships proceeded very organically, it was like public service television,” said one former Channel 4 executive who used to be involved with MAFS UK. “There was still a lot of duty of care at the time, belt and braces, but then the Australian version influenced the UK and introduced more conflict.”