Channel 4 has come under fire for the casting of Lady Victoria Hervey in the new celebrity season of its reality show Handcuffed, with critics calling her inclusion 'truly unjustifiable' and the platforming 'irresponsible'.
The show pairs two people with opposing backgrounds, political opinions, or lifestyles, challenging them to stay handcuffed longer than other couples. The new season features Conservative Home Secretary and Reform MP Suella Braverman with media personality Katie Price, former footballer Neil Ruddock with drag star Bimini, Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona with Made in Chelsea's Mark-Francis Vandelli, and DJ Fat Tony with Princess Olga Romanov.
Lady Hervey, the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol who dated the former Prince Andrew in the 1990s, will be paired with reality star and sexual abuse survivor Georgia Harrison MBE.
Controversial views on Epstein scandal
The 49-year-old has drawn criticism for her comments about the Epstein scandal. Just this year, she said that not being in the Epstein files meant you were 'a bit of a loser'. In a separate interview with LBC host Tom Swarbrick, she accused Epstein and survivor Virginia Giuffre of 'working together' to fake a photograph of the ex-royal with his arm around Giuffre, and has previously called Giuffre the 'queen of the fake photo'.
After Giuffre's suicide, Hervey declared that 'When lies catch up with you, there's no way out', before releasing a follow-up statement calling the death 'tragic' following intense backlash. As far back as 2019, she told Good Morning Britain: 'When you think of sex trafficking, you think of a 12-year-old that's kidnapped that's chained in a cage. This is not the same thing. These girls were living the high life.'
In a 2022 documentary about the scandal, she said she 'had fun' but was 'young and naive' and knew she was 'one of the luckier ones'.
Pairing with Georgia Harrison criticised
The casting has been condemned for pairing Hervey with Harrison, who has become a high-profile advocate for women's safety online after being a victim of revenge porn. Critics argue that Hervey's past comments suggest she could belittle Harrison's lived experience, and that producers may be banking on controversy to attract viewers.
The criticism comes amid wider concerns about giving platforms to controversial figures on reality TV. Statistics cited in the article note that 739,000 women aged 16 years and over experienced sexual assault (including attempts) in the last year in the UK.
Commentators argue that figures like Hervey have not changed their views after reality TV stints, citing examples like Nigel Farage and Sharon Osbourne, and that giving airtime to such figures keeps them relevant. The article concludes that Channel 4 can do better in 2026.
