Channel 4 is embroiled in a fake controversy after claiming that a man appearing on their reality show Married At First Sight UK did not know he was dating a transgender woman.
Next week, viewers will see Ella Morgan, who was born male and transitioned to female at the age of 20, marry the contestant before telling him she is trans a few hours later.
You will watch as the man is in shock when he learns that he has just married Ms. Morgan.
And to keep the drama going, she doesn’t tell her new husband for some time after the wedding ceremony.
However, the broadcaster has now admitted that it told the groom before filming the dramatic scenes, meaning the organization misled its viewers.
Channel 4 is embroiled in a fake controversy after pretending a man appeared on Married At First Sight UK and didn’t know he had been set up with a transgender woman
Next week, viewers will see Ella Morgan, who was assigned male at birth and transitioned to a woman at age 20, marry the contestant before telling him she is trans hours later
Channel 4 has now admitted that they told the man before the series began filming, meaning the organization misled its viewers
It is understood the man is “furious” at how Channel 4 treated him during his time on the show and afterwards.
In Married At First Sight, which airs on the network’s streaming platform E4, contestants don’t know who they’re marrying until they meet them at the altar.
And they make this excuse to fans in the recorded episode that will air next Tuesday.
However, a Channel 4 spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline that “the groom was informed that the partner found for him was a trans woman”.
They now risk complaints from both television regulator Ofcom and fans of the show.
In a released statement, the network said: “This is the first time MAFS UK has featured a trans bride. To ensure full informed consent and with the bride’s permission, the groom was informed that the match found for him was a trans woman, after which both parties decided to continue the process.
“Otherwise, the integrity of the format was maintained.” “Our priority in 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 a “high level of due diligence” was placed on their game.
Ella has previously shared photos of her before her transition on social media, when she was still known as Evan
Ella Morgan (pictured) is the first transgender contestant to appear on the British show
In an interview with MailOnline, Ella told of her relief at appearing on Married At First Sight UK because she says she no longer has to hide
Ella said she was grateful to E4 for getting her on board for the latest series of Married at First Sight UK
It is not the first time that the state broadcaster has been involved in fake TV.
In 2007, it was revealed that chat show Richard & Judy was rigging its phone-in game called The You Say, We Pay by accepting £1 phone entries even though the successful contestants had already been selected . The show was subsequently canceled.
Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show was canceled in 1999 after it emerged that it featured fake guests with made-up sob stories.
Ms Morgan is the first transgender contestant to appear on the show.
Speaking about her decision to appear on the series, she told the Mail: “I’m really proud of it because when I went into it I was afraid to say I was trans but now I can hold my head up high. “
Ella, who is originally from Bristol, told MailOnline she was proud to be trans and was “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 found myself.” I’m proud to say I’m transgender, and that’s just a label. I’m still like any other girl.
“I don’t want to be anyone’s dirty secret, but I feel like people aren’t educated these days.”
Last year, Married At First Sight was rocked by claims of “emotional abuse” against one of its contestants.
George Roberts married April Banbury at the start of the experiment and was accused of being an emotional abuser by three of his ex-girlfriends, although he denied all claims.
