A BBC Panorama investigation has raised serious questions about the safety of dating reality television shows, following allegations of sexual assault on the set of Married at First Sight UK. Two women have alleged they were raped by their on-screen 'husbands' during filming, while a third participant, Shona Manderson, accused her on-screen husband of a non-consensual sex act. All men involved deny the allegations.
Sirin Kale, a Guardian investigations correspondent and host of the podcast 'Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV', discussed the inherent risks of such shows. 'When you have couples living together who don't know each other, who are being thrust together in these really close living quarters and are sleeping in the same bed, I don't know how you make that show safe,' she said.
Kale also highlighted the intentional creation of conflict on the show, noting that producers often pair contestants who are unlikely to get along to generate drama. 'Reality TV producers are not putting contestants together who they genuinely think are going to be great matches and fall in love. You want one or two people to fall in love per season but you want the rest of them to fight, otherwise the show is boring,' she explained.
In response to the allegations, Channel 4 stated it commissioned an external review into welfare on the show last month 'after being presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing'. CPL Productions, the production company behind the show, says its welfare protocols are industry-leading and that it acted appropriately in all these cases.
