Married At First Sight UK 'hit by fresh scandal as six former stars are planning to sue over welfare failures' after contestant was arrested on suspicion of rape

The scandal surrounding has taken a fresh turn, as six former stars are reportedly planning to sue bosses over 'welfare failures.' 

The E4 reality series has faced calls to be axed after claims aired by  Panorama that two women had been raped during filming, while a third woman had said she was the victim of a non-consensual sex act.

Last week, it was also revealed that a former cast member had been arrested on suspicion of rape, after the documentary was broadcast.

Neither the individual arrested nor the alleged victim are being named, the BBC reports.

Sources are now claiming that at least six cast members have engaged a media lawyer to take action against show maker CPL Productions, and more are lined up to join the action.

It's thought that while old seasons of MAFS UK have been pulled from Channel 4's streaming service, they have enlisted an editor from 's : UK to oversee necessary 'extensive' edits to series 11, which has just been filmed.

Of the legal action, a source told The Sun: 'The claims on Panorama opened the floodgates and now a number of former MAFS cast members intend to take action against CPL for what they see as a severe lapse in participant care.' 

Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Channel 4 for comment. 

On Thursday, it was revealed that a former MAFS UK cast member had been arrested on suspicion of rape. 

The  said: 'This relates to an ongoing investigation, being led by the Met Police.

'He has since been bailed while enquiries remain ongoing.'

Lawyers for CPL, the production company behind MAFS UK, said after the claims first emerged in May, that its welfare system was 'gold standard', and that it acted appropriately in all these cases.

 boss Priya Dogra initially declined to apologise after the broadcast of Panorama, but has since said she was 'deeply sorry'.

The broadcaster immediately pulled all episodes of what is one of its most popular shows. 

The Met Police previously urged 'anyone who believes they have been a victim of sexual assault' after appearing on the show to get in touch. 

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said he was 'extremely concerned', adding: 'I think it's highly likely that there will be a referral to the police and it will be a police matter for them to investigate.'

Media Minister Ian Murray went on to meet Channel 4 leadership to discuss the scandal.

The claims aired on the Panorama show - which are not necessarily related to the arrest - included those from Shona Manderson, who waived her anonymity and alleged that Bradley Skelly engaged in a non-consensual sex act while they filmed the Channel 4 show, a claim he denies.

Shona, who appeared on the show in 2023, later found out she was pregnant and had an abortion, although she admits she is not sure if she fell pregnant from the alleged incident.

She said she 'completely lost her light' while appearing on the show.

Bradley said he understood his on-screen wife consented that night and categorically denied 'any allegations of sexual misconduct' or that he was 'controlling'.

Shona was one of three MAFS UK contestants to make claims to Panorama that they were victims of sexual misconduct on the show. Two women claim they were raped - a third claimed she was sexually assaulted.

Meanwhile, one participant on the programme, who did not wish to be identified, accused her husband of raping her and threatening her with an acid attack, and has been looking to pursue legal action against CPL.

'Lizzie', as she was named to keep her anonymity, said her partner often lost his temper when the cameras were not on them.

Sex, she said, soon became violent and would leave her bruised even after she 'kept saying stop,' she told the BBC.

'He said that if I told anybody what had happened, that he would get someone to throw acid at me,' Lizzie said.

Describing one alleged attack, she said: 'We were in our apartment, on the sofa, and he tried to have sex with me. And I kept saying no, that I didn't want to do it.

'But he kept saying, "You can't say no, you're my wife". And he just did it anyway.'

Lawyers for CPL told Panorama that Lizzie did not mention the 'can't say no' comment to its team and the 'acid' remark was mentioned as a passing comment, not a threat.

CPL took action as soon as Lizzie said she felt unsafe, the lawyers added.

A second woman, named as Chloe, alleges she was raped by her husband before broadcast, though Channel 4 aired her episodes despite her telling the channel and producers.

'He smirked and climbed on top of me, moved my leg… By that time, I'd really given up and I just didn't want him to be angry at me when the cameras came,' she said.

'I just lay there, and I stared out the window.'

After filming finished, she told the show's psychiatrist, alerting CPL who then went to Channel 4. 

When Chloe complained to the broadcaster, she only received a response once the series was on air. Lawyers for CPL told the BBC it followed welfare protocols.

Both men involved deny the allegations, Panorama added.

Married At First Sight sees singles paired together by a panel of experts and then enter into non-legally binding marriages after meeting for the first time at the altar.

Billed as a 'social experiment', the show follows the couples' every move as they go on a 'honeymoon' and then move in together.

The boss of Ofcom, the media regulator, said in the wake of the scandal that it would tighten its guidance around reality shows if necessary. 

A senior source with knowledge of the show said last month that the allegations will likely finish it off in Britain, although it is still made in approaching 30 countries worldwide.

'It's a big format for Channel 4 but it's not like Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing or MasterChef. Channel 4 can lose it. The days of throwing strangers together are over', the Daily Mail's insider has said.

'This type of programming has long promised a route to fame. It now risks exposing the less glamorous truth that spectacle has always had a human cost.'

The expert, who has worked in TV for decades, said the cost of the MAFS scandal to production companies will be huge.

They added: 'This profound crisis will of course result in a seismic change. For years, reality TV has sold itself as a democratic route to fame: ordinary people elevated by personality, romance, drama or delusion.

'But it will change the insurance, the legal oversight, the casting, the psychological screening, the duty of care and the broadcaster's tolerance for formats that depend on emotional combustion'.

Dame Caroline Dinenage said the premise of the dating show, which sees single people 'marry' strangers who they meet for the first time on their wedding day, was 'horrifying' and that she was 'unsurprised' by the sexual assault allegations.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Dame Caroline said: 'Clearly, the programme was deeply shocking.

'I guess what surprised me most was how unsurprised I was by what it revealed, given I suppose, as you say, that these are couples that get married without having met each other before, and then immediately have to assume a life as a married couple.

'They go on honeymoon, they share a bed, and in this kind of bubble of intimacy under the glare of a TV camera.

'In the cold light of day, it really is quite horrifying, isn't it?'

Asked if the format of the show is 'guaranteed' to cause trouble, Dame Caroline said: 'The whole format of the programme is that you're setting up an artificial bubble in which there's almost an expectation that people will become intimate with each other.

'And I think people probably feel contestants probably feel almost obliged to do so.'The marriages for the 'social experiment' are not legally binding and cameras follow the couples' every move as they go on 'honeymoon' then move in together.