EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 is pushing on with a Married at First Sight (MAFS) spin-off following rape allegations relating to the main series.
Channel 4 announced the franchise would be expanding in February, with Second Marriage at First Sight bringing together singletons from both the UK and Australian shows for a second chance at finding love.
Deadline is told the show is pushing on with pre-production, with filming not due to begin until late summer. Cameras could begin rolling around the time two reviews into the MAFS UK allegations report back.
“Whilst we’re in pre-production, we’ve not yet begun filming on Second Marriage at First Sight,” said a Channel 4 spokeswoman. “Any findings from our review will be incorporated into the production.”
Second Marriage at First Sight is also produced by MAFS UK maker CPL Productions and was due to be one of Channel 4’s splashiest entertainment launches of the year, being the first to combine two of the most successful MAFS territories, the UK and Australia.
Channel 4 CEO Priya Dogra said yesterday that “no decision has been made” on the future of Season 6 of the main MAFS UK, describing reports that it has been axed as “wholly inaccurate.” The series is “substantially filmed and currently in the edit,” according to Channel 4 Chief Content Officer Ian Katz.
Were Channel 4 to therefore push on with Second Marriage at First Sight, it would represent the first version of the show to film since the emergence of the allegations. Channel 4 has, in the meantime, taken down all episodes of MAFS UK from its streaming service in order to avoid “stoking speculation that might lead to the jigsaw identification of the women in the Panorama programme or indeed any other contributors,” Dogra said yesterday.
The shock BBC Panorama included two allegations of rape and one of a non-consensual sex act on MAFS UK. The three men accused of wrongdoing deny the accusations, while Channel 4, which said it was made aware of the allegations several weeks before the Panorama, and CPL Productions, insist that welfare protocols were followed.
Channel 4 has commissioned two external reviews due to report back over the summer, one from a law firm “examining the welfare protocols in place on this programme at the time claims were raised” and the other from former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, who is probing whether “any changes should be made to current protocols for MAFS UK.
Tui pulls sponsorship
As the scandal moves into its fourth day, travel firm Tui, well known for achieving viral TikTok fame for its catchy holiday theme song, has today ended its sponsorship of MAFS UK, plus the Australian and American versions.
“Following the broadcast of the Panorama programme and discussion with Channel 4, we have taken the decision to end our sponsorship of Married at First Sight,” a spokesperson told BBC News.
The news will be a blow and could lead to a domino effect among MAFS advertisers and sponsors.
Yesterday, Dogra apologized to the women who made “very troubling” rape allegations. The Metropolitan Police has urged victims to come forward.
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