How Panorama exposed rape allegations on Married at First Sight UK

How Panorama exposed rape allegations on Married at First Sight UK2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNoor NanjiCulture correspondentGetty ImagesOn Wednesday morning, I walked into Channel 4's offices in central London and took a seat in a room eyeball to eyeball with its boss.The broadcaster was holding a press event to unveil its annual report, but it was completely overshadowed by the crisis surrounding one of its biggest shows.Over the past five weeks, Panorama had been in correspondence with Channel 4 detailing allegations of sexual misconduct on Married at First Sight UK, and the broadcaster's replies had come back in what felt like dismissive and heavy-handed language.Now, finally, the story was out, and it was time to get some answers on the record. And the dozens of journalists gathered in the room didn't hold back.The response from chief executive Priya Dogra was a stark contrast to the tone Channel 4 had adopted in correspondence with the BBC previously.Up until last week, Channel 4 was calling the allegations the BBC had presented to them "wholly uncorroborated and disputed".Now came an apology - Dogra was "deeply sorry", she said, and had found the women's accounts "very troubling" to watch.In the Panorama investigation, two women said they were raped by their on-screen husbands during filming, while a third described a non-consensual sex act.The impact has been swift, and sizeable. Channel 4 launched an external review, all the episodes have been taken down from its streaming service, and a major sponsor has pulled out.Married at First Sight UK brides tell BBC they were raped by on-screen husbandsWhat doesn't get talked about as much, is what happens in the run-up to a big investigation, and why it can often take so long.In our case, it took 18 months.It all began with a meeting in the BBC's London headquarters. A woman who had been a bridesmaid on MAFS UK came in to raise concerns a...