A male cast member of the U.K. edition of “Married at First Sight” has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
The cast member’s identity is unknown, as are the alleged victims in the case, due to anonymity laws related to rape allegations. The arrest comes several weeks after it was revealed that two of the show’s female cast members had made accusations of rape against their trial husbands. At least one other submitted an allegation involving a non-consensual sexual act.
While the identities of those involved remain under wraps for the time being, the men accused have denied all the allegations against them. A review of the show’s welfare conditions has been commissioned by the BBC’s Channel 4. The review is expected to conclude in the late summer. Channel 4 will release a “summary of findings” at the review’s conclusion.
In late May, the British investigative docuseries “BBC Panorama” aired an episode investigating rape accusations stemming from the U.K. edition of “Married at First Sight.” Hours before the “Panorama” investigation was released, all seasons of “Married at First Sight” were pulled from Channel 4’s streaming platform, social media accounts and linear television lineups.
In response to the “Panorama” investigation, the U.K.’s Metropolitan Police released a statement encouraging any of the show’s past participants “who believes they have been a victim of sexual assault” to contact them. When reached Thursday by BBC News about the arrest, officials said in a statement, “This relates to an ongoing investigation, being led by the Met Police.”
“He has since been bailed while enquiries remain ongoing,” the law enforcement unit added of the arrested individual.
Like the U.S. version of “Married at First Sight,” the show’s U.K. edition, which has produced 10 seasons to date, focuses on strangers who agree to marry each other during their first meeting. A new season of the U.K. series has already been filmed, but it is unclear for the time being if it will ever be released.
In late May, Channel 4 CEO Priya Dogra denied reports that the U.K. edition of “Married at First Sight” had been canceled, insisting instead that “no decision” had been made yet.
“We are a broadcaster, not an adjudicator,” Dogra said during a Channel 4 Annual Report briefing in May. “It is for other people to look into allegations that the women have made, our job is to look at allegations of a duty of care failure. That’s the distinction between the two.”
Of the “BBC Panorama” investigation, Dogra, who assumed her CEO position in March, said during the same briefing, “I have watched the program and heard the women’s accounts, which are very troubling. Their distress is clear and for that I am, of course, deeply sorry.”
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