Channel 4 has been embroiled in a fake row after pretending a man appearing on their reality show Married At First Sight did not know he was linked to a transgender woman.
Next week, viewers will see Ella Morgan, who was born a man and turned into a woman at the age of 20, marrying the contestant before telling him she was trans just hours later.
They will watch as the man is left shocked to learn that he has just married Mrs. Morgan.
And in an effort to keep the drama going, she doesn’t tell her new husband for a while after the ceremony.
However, the broadcaster has now admitted that they did tell the man, causing the organization to dupe their viewers.
Channel 4 has been embroiled in a fake row after pretending a man appearing on their reality show Married At First Sight didn’t know he was linked to a transgender woman
Next week, viewers will see Ella Morgan, who was born a man and turned into a woman at the age of 20, marrying the contestant before telling him she was transgender just hours later.
Channel 4 has now admitted they did tell the man, meaning the organization duped their viewers
It is understood the man is ‘furious’ at the way Channel 4 treated him during his time on the program and afterwards.
In Married At First Sight, which airs on the channel’s E4 streaming platform, contestants won’t know who they’re marrying until they see them at the altar.
And they’re keeping up appearances for fans in the pre-recorded episode airing next Tuesday.
But a Channel 4 spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline that ‘the groom was told the match found for him was a trans woman’.
They now risk complaints from both television regulator Ofcom and the show’s fans.
In a statement, the network said: ‘This is the first time MAFS UK has featured a trans bride, so to ensure fully informed consent, and with the bride’s consent, the groom was told that the match found was a match for him. trans woman, after which both parties chose to continue in the process.
“In every other way, the integrity of the format was maintained. Our priority during matchmaking is to protect the well-being of the cast and create compatible matches, based on a detailed assessment of individual preferences, as part of an in-depth, careful matchmaking process.”
Despite the show being fake, Channel 4 bosses insist there is a ‘high duty of care’ attached to their competition.
Ella Morgan (pictured) is the first transgender contestant to appear on the show.
In an interview with MailOnline, Ella has opened up about her relief at appearing on Married At First Sight UK as she says she no longer has to hide.
Ella has said she is grateful to E4 for recruiting her into the line-up for the latest series of Married at First Sight UK
It is not the first time that the state-owned network has been embroiled in fake television
In 2007, it was revealed that chat show Richard & Judy manipulated its dial-up system called The You Say, We Pay game by taking £1 phone details, despite the successful contestants having already been chosen. The show was subsequently axed.
Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show was axed in 1999 after it emerged that fake guests with made-up sob stories appeared on it.
Ms. Morgan is the first transgender contestant to appear on the show.
Speaking about her decision to appear on the show, she told the Mail: ‘I’m really proud of it because when I started this I was scared to say I’m transgender, but now I can hold my head up.
Ella, who is originally from Bristol, told MailOnline that she is proud to be trans and that she is ‘just like any other girl’
The new series of Married at First Sight UK starts on September 18 at 9pm
‘I changed a lot of people’s minds and I also found myself. I am proud that I am transgender and that it is just a label. I’m still just like any other girl.
“I don’t want to be anyone’s dirty secret, but I feel like people aren’t well educated these days.”
Last year, Married at First Sight was rocked by claims of “emotional abuse” about one of its contestants.
George Roberts married April Banbury early in the experiment and was accused of emotional abuse by three of his ex-girlfriends, although he denied all claims.