Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2026
Letter from the Chair to Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom, regarding Married at First Sight, 20 May 2026
Summary
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chair writes to Ofcom's Chief Executive following a Panorama investigation into duty of care failures on Channel 4's Married at First Sight. The letter raises concerns about Ofcom's powers to investigate reality TV participant complaints, its processes for handling breaches of the broadcasting code, and why it is waiting for Channel 4's own investigation rather than launching its own inquiry.
Key findings
- Panorama and Aston University researchers have raised serious allegations about broadcasters' duty of care towards reality TV participants
- Academic researchers have identified limitations in Ofcom's processes for adjudicating 'due care' breaches during production
- Some reality TV participants have been told their complaints to Ofcom were 'not entertained'
- Ofcom has stated it is waiting for Channel 4 to complete its investigation before taking further action
- Committee seeks clarification on Ofcom's investigative powers, complaint awareness-raising, and ability to direct unentertainable complaints to other sources of advice
Tone
CriticalTopics
broadcastingduty-of-carereality-televisionbroadcasting-code
Key actors
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, Channel 4, Panorama, Aston University
Notable line
“Given the seriousness of the issues raised, why can you not launch your own investigation in the meantime?”
Key Quotes
“The Committe e is concerned about the reports in this week's episode of Panorama about the Channel 4 reality programme, Married at First Sight.”
“Their data suggests that Ofcom would find it difficult to adjudicate whether "due care" had been followed during production.”
“According to BBC reports you have said you are waiting for Channel 4 to complete its investigation before taking further action.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗