Married at First Sight won’t remove controversial contestant from show after abuse allegation

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The Channel 4 reality show Married at First Sight has rejected calls to remove one of its contestants after an accusation of domestic abuse was made against him.

Alexander Henry, a personal trainer from Birmingham, appears as one of the groomsmen in the latest season of the show.

Channel 4 has confirmed it has received “a single allegation against a Married at First Sight UK 2024 contributor and we have responded directly to those who came to us with that allegation”.

The broadcaster has said it would not be cutting Henry’s scenes as “the DBS (criminal record) check carried out on the contributor raised in the allegation was returned clear”.

The BBC says it has viewed evidence that the alleged victim sent to Channel 4 alongside her request for Henry to be removed from the show.

Married at First Sight is a social experiment reality show where single people marry total strangers, sight unseen and meet for the first time at the altar.

In a statement, Channel 4 said that the “welfare of our contributors is of paramount importance and, as such, we take all allegations of unacceptable behaviour seriously”.

It continued: “Everyone taking part in MAFS UK undergoes a rigorous vetting process, involving a criminal record check and multiple psychological evaluations before they can be cleared to take part.

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“We cast contributors based on the information we are legally able to access, and we continue to review this process to ensure checks are as thorough as legally possible.”

Last year, Henry participated in another Channel 4 dating reality show, Let’s Make a Love Scene, but the episode he appeared in was never aired after his former partner reported his behaviour to the show’s producer. The Independent was unable to contact Henry for comment.

The alleged victim was reportedly told by Channel 4 that the two shows are made by different production companies, so they would not have been aware of Henry’s participation in a programme that was never broadcast.

Based on Channel 4’s decision to keep Henry in Married at First Sight, the domestic abuse charity Refuge said in a statement that it was “disappointed to hear that an alleged abuser is being platformed on the upcoming series of Married At First Sight”.

“Everyone has a responsibility to help eradicate violence against women and girls, including producers and media practitioners,” it continued.

Charity Women’s Aid also it was “disappointed and concerned” to hear that producers have decided not to remove an alleged abuser from the series.

“At Women’s Aid we would urge the producers to reconsider how they approach this, for the sake of the contestants to whom they have a responsibility to protect; and to signal to survivors that the entertainment industry takes their experiences seriously,” it said.

The Independent has contacted Channel 4 for comment.