NETFLIX is pushing ahead with plans for a dating show similar to scandal-hit Married At First Sight.
Two months after BBC’s Panorama revealed a string of allegations against the Channel 4 reality TV series, I can reveal the streamer is developing an as-yet-untitled show where two people who barely know one another end up tying the knot.
Love Is Blind hosts Emma and Matt Willis Credit: PA
Two women who appeared on MAFS claim to have been raped by their on-screen husbands, and another accused her TV partner of sexual misconduct Credit: Channel 9
Netflix is already going ahead and airing an unrelated new series, Love Is Blind, hosted by husband and wife Matt and Emma Willis.
It’s a dating show which also brings virtual strangers together in an intimate space and is made by CPL, the same production company that delivers Mafs.
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A TV insider said: “Many of the complaints made against Mafs centre around the fact that two people marrying then sees them suddenly put together.
“They are then in an intimate space, without any observation, and that has led to some of the allegations that have been made on Mafs.
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“So observers will be surprised to see that Netflix are working on a very similar project.”
The programme sees a man get introduced to 50 women who are whittled down, potentially by a public vote, to just one person – and then they get married.
Two women who appeared on Mafs claim to have been raped by their on-screen husbands, and another accused her TV partner of sexual misconduct.
Last month a past contestant was arrested on suspicion of rape.
At least six ex-cast members are now understood to have engaged a media lawyer to take action against show maker CPL Productions.
Channel 4 has pulled all old seasons of the show from its streaming service.
It also shelved plans for all-stars spin-off Married At Second Sight.
Netflix declined to comment.
THE award-winning Murder Trial returns to BBC Two later this year with two new cases.
Death Of A Dog Walker follows the 2024 murder of groundsman Brian Low on a remote country path, while Woman On The Bridge covers the death of Kimberly Bruce in a landmark legal case.
AJ SHOW SHUTS UP SHOP
AJ Odudu’s big ITV show M&S: Dress The Nation has been given the chop Credit: ITV
THERE’S more bad news for AJ Odudu as her big ITV show M&S: Dress The Nation has been given the chop.
The programme, which she hosted with Vernon Kay, has been axed after two series.
It comes after one of her other big ITV shows, Celebrity Big Brother, hangs in the balance after being pushed back to 2027.
An ITV spokeswoman said: “Following two series of Dress The Nation, unfortunately we won’t be commissioning another at this time.”
The show saw nine candidates from various backgrounds compete to design clothes for M&S.
Although it’s a blow for AJ, she is expected to return to front the non-celebrity Big Brother in September.
Her career has boomed since she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 .
In 2022 she appeared on no less than 11 different shows, and in 2023 she was eight shows, as a guest or a host.
The Real Housewives Of London will sashay back onto screens on September 7
THE Real Housewives Of London will sashay back onto screens on September 7.
Confirming my exclusive, series two of the glam gang will feature returning Housewives Juliet Angus, Nessie Welschinger, Amanda Cronin, Karen Loderick-Peace, Juliet Mayhew and Panthea Parker.
Picking up in the aftermath of an explosive off-camera dinner, the women attempt to move forward through charity galas, Fashion Week front rows, Lunar New Year celebrations and a jaw-dropping trip to Antigua.
Episodes will drop on Hayu weekly, with a reunion special hosted by Katherine Ryan concluding the ten-episode run.
