TUI has severed its sponsorship deal with Married at First Sight after the Channel 4 show was plunged into scandal by rape and sexual abuse allegations.
The travel firm paused its sponsorship on Monday after two contestants claimed they had been raped by their on-screen grooms, and one woman alleged a non-consensual sex act.
Confirming it has now cut all ties with the show, the company said: ‘Following the broadcast of the Panorama programme and discussion with Channel 4, we have taken the decision to end our sponsorship of Married at First Sight.’
TV critic Scott Bryan said the development shows how the global brand of MAFS has been damaged, even the non-UK versions ‘do not have anything to do with these recent allegations’.
Bryan told the BBC it was ‘a big deal’ for Tui to pull out of the Australian edition – sometimes called MAFS Oz – as well as the UK one, because ‘it’s a hugely popular and lucrative show for Channel 4, especially with younger viewers’.
The boss of Ofcom, the media regulator, said on Thursday it would tighten its guidance around reality shows if necessary.
Dame Melanie Dawes told Good Morning Britain: ‘What we always try to avoid is being really specific about, ‘You can do this and you can’t do that,’ because fundamentally the responsibility is with Channel 4 and its production company, or with ITV or BBC or whoever is producing these shows, to get this right.’
‘If they have not got right, this is going to be a serious issue.
Holiday firm TUI has ended is sponsorship of Married at First Sight in light of rape and sexual abuse allegations
The CEO of Channel 4 said she was ‘deeply sorry’ after three women came forward with complaints
‘It’s very live, but it does raise really serious concerns. If we need to tighten our guidance, then we absolutely will.’
She continued: ‘Sometimes we do have these wake-up calls where, as a country, we just go, ‘This has gone too far.”
Lawyers for CPL, the production company behind the UK version of the show, said after the claims emerged that its welfare system was ‘gold standard’, and that it acted appropriately in all these cases.
Channel 4 boss Priya Dogra initially declined to apologise after the broadcast of Panorama on Monday, but did express her ‘sympathy’ for those who had spoken up.
However, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, she went further by saying she was ‘deeply sorry’, and admitted she had found the women’s accounts ‘very troubling’.
Among the alleged victims is Shona Manderson, who says she got an abortion after her on-screen husband, Brad Skelly, took things ‘too far’ during sex and ‘a boundary was crossed’ when he ejaculated inside her without permission.
He has said he understood she was consenting and denies any sexual misconduct
Waiving her anonymity, she described how she ‘completely lost her light’ during filming, which saw experts raise concerns about Mr Skelly’s alleged ‘controlling’ manner towards her that saw them ultimately be asked to leave the show.
Shona Manderson, right, says she was forced to get an abortion after her on-screen husband, Brad Skelly, left, ejaculated in her without permission
Laura Vaughan, who was a bride on the 2023 series, said she also raised complaints about Mr Skelly’s ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘challenging’ conduct
On Wednesday, Laura Vaughan, a bride on the 2023 series alongside Ms Manderson, said she also went to the welfare team on the Channel 4 show over Mr Skelly’s ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘challenging’ conduct.
Taking to social media, Ms Vaughan shared a video in which she told followers that the documentary has raised questions around the safeguarding processes for reality television.
Two other female contestants reported being raped by their on-screen husbands, with one informing both Channel 4 and the production company only for the episodes to be aired anyway.
The other described being left with bruises from the alleged assault and said her partner also threatened to have acid thrown at her.
All the men are understood to deny the allegations against them.
The women say the show, produced by independent firm CPL, did not do enough to protect them and that welfare protocols were not sufficient.
Shortly before the Panorama episode aired, Channel 4 announced it had commissioned an external review into contributor welfare last month.
It subsequently removed all ten series of MAFS UK from its online streaming platform, and said it has not decided whether to air Series 11, which has already been filmed and was due for release in the autumn.
