MAFS UK experts [left] and Shona during the Panorama episode [right]. Picture: Channel 4 / BBC

Is MAFS UK 2026 cancelled? A Channel 4 spokesperson has addressed reports that the upcoming season has been axed.

The future of Married at First Sight UK appears uncertain after a damning episode of Panorama aired on Monday night (May 18). The short documentary saw three MAFS UK brides, including Shona Manderson, come forward and allege sexual assault by their onscreen husbands.

The main focus of the episode was on how CPL – the production company behind MAFS UK – handled the brides’ welfare concerns when they reported the incidents. In response to the Panorama episode, Channel 4 announced that last month they commissioned an external review into contributor welfare on Married at First Sight UK.

However, with some suggesting that the best thing for participant welfare would be to stop airing the show all together, all eyes are on Channel 4 to make a definitive decision.

MAFS UK’s Shona spoke out about her time on the show. Picture: BBC

Is MAFS UK 2026 cancelled?

The tabloids ran a story claiming that the upcoming series of MAFS UK has been axed amid the welfare complaints, but an insider has told The Telegraph that no decisions have been made yet.

They said: “No decision has been made on the broadcast of MAFS UK [2026]. We have just announced an external review into contributor welfare on MAFS UK and we need to see what that finds before deciding what happens next.”

Following the Panorama episode airing, Priya Dogra, the Chief Executive of Channel 4, addressed concerns that the channel had failed in it’s duty of care, saying: “I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.

“Nevertheless, because we aspire to the highest standards of contributor welfare, I felt strongly as Channel 4’s new CEO that it was right that we look again at how we handled issues raised at the time and ask whether changes should be made to further strengthen contributor welfare.

“That’s why last month I commissioned an external review of contributor welfare on MAFS UK. That review will report to me in the coming months.”

Shona is currently the only one of the three brides who has come out publicly, the other two have chosen to remain anonymous. The former MAFS bride has claimed that her onscreen husband Brad Skelly went “too far” during intimacy and crossed a boundary without her consent.

On why she chose to share her story now, three years after appearing on the show, she said: “I chose to speak because I hope that sharing my experience could contribute to a wide conversation around welfare and positive change.”

Brad has categorically denied any claims of sexual misconduct made by Shona and said their relationship was based on “mutual consent, care and affection”.

CRE: https://www.capitalfm.com/news/tv-film/married-at-first-sight/uk-mafs-2026-axed-cancelled/