Figure caption, Married at First Sight UK cancelled after rape allegations
Married at First Sight UK will not return, Channel 4 has said, following a BBC investigation into the hit reality TV show.
The Channel 4 show was plunged into crisis earlier this year, after Panorama revealed rape allegations from two female cast members on the show , while a third woman alleged a non-consensual sex act. The men involved have denied all the allegations against them.
A review was commissioned by Channel 4 shortly after the BBC first contacted the broadcaster, with details of the allegations we had heard.
On Thursday, the completed review recommended extra safeguards on the show. But Channel 4 said the programme had "run its course" and apologised to the women involved in the investigation.
The broadcaster's chief executive Priya Dogra said she was "very sorry for the distress those women have clearly felt", adding that the show's budget would be reinvested in "distinctive new programming".
The Panorama investigation in May, in which three women made allegations about the men they were partnered with - claims the men deny, made the following allegations:
One woman said her onscreen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.
A second woman told both Channel 4 and CPL, before broadcast, about being allegedly raped by her onscreen husband. Her episodes were still aired.
A third woman - Shona Manderson, the only woman who was identified - accused her onscreen husband of sexual misconduct.
All three women accused the show of not doing enough to protect them.
Lawyers for CPL, the independent production company that makes the UK version of the show, previously said its welfare system is "gold standard" and industry-leading, and that it acted appropriately in all these cases.
Channel 4 had initially told Panorama that all the allegations were "wholly uncorroborated".
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the House of Commons culture and media committee, said the decision to axe the show "makes sense" given the review's findings and the "seriousness of the allegations".
"Reality TV contestants have often been treated as a commodity, with duty of care a slogan rather than a genuine principle. Everyone involved in producing and regulating reality TV must now learn and act," she added.
A spokesman for Ofcom said the broadcast regulator would "carefully consider the reports published today as we move to strengthen our guidance for broadcasters".
"We are clear that broadcasters have a duty of care towards members of the public who participate in their programmes."
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The review into the show was split into two - one part examined welfare protocols on MAFS UK, and the other reported on how Channel 4 handled the allegations.
The review into welfare protocols, led by former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey, concluded that some parts of the programme's format increased "the risk profile of the show".
Although she found the protocols for MAFS UK were extremely thorough and of a high standard, she said "intimacy is a key focus", and that "some elements of the show could implicitly put pressure on contributors to be intimate".
Heggessey made suggestions including installing CCTV in all areas of the apartments, constantly monitored by a welfare team, with panic buttons and "safe words" in place.
She concluded that, with enhancements to the existing welfare fram…