Overview
- Channel 4 announced on Thursday that it will end the long-running reality series and will not air the completed sixth season or a planned spin-off.
- The decision follows two independent reviews commissioned after BBC Panorama broadcast allegations about non-consensual sexual incidents linked to the show earlier this year.
- A Clyde & Co review found the production's welfare protocols broadly complied with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code but identified isolated failures, including cases where contributors broke rules on prohibited substances and received warnings instead of removal.
- Former BBC executive Lorraine Heggessey recommended sweeping format and welfare changes such as separate bedrooms on wedding nights, CCTV in apartments, safe words, panic buttons and in-person psychological profiling, but Channel 4 said those measures would change the programme's editorial proposition.
- The criminal allegations remain with law enforcement, Ofcom’s separate investigation continues, CPL Productions defended its welfare work, and Channel 4 said it will share lessons across the industry as it reinvests the budget in new shows.