'Toxic from the top down': MAFS UK crew claim show producers have 'unhealthy focus on wedding night sex' in fresh claim after Panorama documentary
Crew are accused of 'high fiving' when a couple sleep togetherMAFS UK has come under the spotlight again amid fresh new claims from TV crew members, claiming the show is “toxic from the top down”.
The BBC say it has spoken to several members of staff who worked on the show in the wake of its damning Panorama documentary.
Viewers were horrified last week to hear three women reveal their shocking experiences on Married At First Sight UK.
Two brides accused their on-screen husbands of ‘raping’ them while the series was still being filmed.
A third, Shona Manderson, made claims that she was also a victim of ‘sexual misconduct’.
All three grooms – including Shona’s show husband Bradley Skelly – denied the allegations against them.
The BBC’s Noor Nanjihas now published a new report after speaking to MAFS UK crew members.
They have insisted there is an “unhealthy focus” on cast members having sex, even though they are strangers.
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MAFS UK branded ‘toxic from the top down’ by TV crew
The Married At First Sight UK format sees strangers meeting for the first time at the altar. Their marriages are not legally binding, but contributors are sent off on honeymoon with their new spouses and expected to live with them.
From the first night, the new couples are also expected to sleep in the same bed.
Soraya Spiers, who has worked on the show, told Noor for BBC News the show is “toxic from the top down”.
She added: “On the wedding night, there’s an expectation, for those of us who were working on the show, that you should get some sort of hint if the couples are going to sleep together. Even though they’ve only known each other for two seconds by that point.”
The BBC has quoted another former crew member who worked on MAFS UK for several years.
Remaining anonymous, she said she raised concerns with show bosses about expectations of sharing the same bed.
The woman claimed to the BBC that a senior member of production told her: “Don’t you get it? We want them to sleep together.”
She also alleged that crew members would “make bets” on who would sleep together first for fun. No money was exchanged but she says they would “high five each other” if they guessed correctly.
MAFS UK lawyers respond to latest claims
Lawyers for the company that produces MAFS UK, CPL, have responded to the BBC’s latest allegations.
Former employees have been accused of having “an axe to grind”. Lawyers said the new claims are from a minority of crew, adding: “Commitment to welfare… is evidenced by the high consecutive return rate of crew across the MAFS series.”
In relation to the “bets” and “high five” allegation, CLP’s lawyers told the BBC it “is not something which our client recognises at all”.
Channel 4 continues to insist the welfare of contributors is “always our primary concern across all productions”.
The broadcaster has launched an external investigation into the welfare procedures on MAFS UK. Findings are expected in the coming months.
Channel ‘s Chief Executive Pryia Dogra has said she is “deeply sorry” to the women featured in Panorama.
“I have watched the programme and heard the women’s accounts, which are very troubling,” she said last week. “Their distress is clear, and for that, I am of course deeply sorry.”
