Women’s Aid already forced to comment about alleged ‘abuser’ in the MAFS UK 2024 cast

The groom in question had a different reality TV appearance axed because of the claims

24 hours ago

Charity Women’s Aid has already been forced to make a statement aimed at MAFS UK 2024, after an alleged abuser is part of the new cast of singles.

Since the cast was first revealed, there has been a lot of talk surrounding groom Alex Henry. As soon as he was announced as one of the people taking part in the experiment this year, there was accusations of “abuse” being reported on. When his promo reel was shared, one person branded him a “dangerous individual”.

Claims were made online by a woman called Shannon, who it is believed was speaking on behalf of a friend, who claimed to have dated Alex in the past. Speaking of Alex, Shannon said: “In situations where people are marrying each other at first sight, allowing a domestic abuser to join the show is not acceptable at all. I have seen first hand the damage that this man has done. Something needs to be done about this situation.”

Women’s Aid has already condemned his involvement in the show, and posted a lengthy statement, saying the decision to feature him is both “disappointing and concerning.” A petition, which currently has nearly 2000 signatures, has also been shared which claims Alex is a “domestic abuser” who “abused someone for multiple years”.

via Channel 4

Despite this, Channel 4 has confirmed Alex will continue as a cast member, and said his DBS check as part of casting came back clear. The channel said it had responded directly to those who made the allegations.

Making a statement, Women’s Aid said of MAFS UK 2024: “We are incredibly disappointed and concerned to hear that producers of Married at First Sight have taken the decision not to remove an alleged abuser from the latest series.

“Having seen the direct impact of abusive behaviours displayed on the show in previous years on survivors, we would have hoped that protection and tolerance levels for abuse would leave no room for perpetrators to be given a platform again, with their actions being televised as ‘entertainment’.

“Sadly, this decision demonstrates the lack of awareness that the production team still has when it comes to domestic abuse. At Women’s Aid we would urge the producers to reconsider how they approach this, for the sake of the contestants to whom they have a responsibility to protect; and to signal to survivors that the entertainment industry takes their experiences seriously.”

According to the BBC, Alex Henry attempted to contact his former partner ahead of filming the show and in one message said: “I get flashbacks about what happened between us, the good… but mostly the bad, and it makes me feel sick.”

via Channel 4

The publication has reported last year he participated in another Channel 4 dating reality show, Let’s Make a Love Scene, but the episode he appeared in was never aired after his former partner reported his behaviour to the show’s producer.

In response a spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “The welfare of our contributors is of paramount importance and, as such, we take all allegations of unacceptable behaviour seriously. We are aware of a single allegation against a Married at First Sight UK 2024 contributor and we have responded directly to those who came to us with that allegation.

“As part of our responsibility to safeguard our contributors, everyone taking part in MAFSUK undergoes a rigorous vetting process, involving a criminal record check and multiple psychological evaluations, before they can be cleared to take part.

“The DBS (criminal record) check carried out on the contributor raised in the allegation was returned clean. We cast contributors based on the information we are legally able to access and we continue to review this process to ensure checks are as thorough as legally possible.”

On top of this, Alex was reportedly being jailed after appearing on the show, because he was denied leave from his position in the RAF. According to The Sun, Alex worked at RAF Spadeadam as an air specialist, and asked his commander for additional leave last winter in order to attend filming for MAFS UK 2024.

He was denied leave, but decided to go and film for the reality TV show regardless. As such he was seized by military police once he had finished filming and sentenced to 34 days in military prison before allegedly being sacked from his job.

Henry’s spokesman said: “He returned after filming of his own volition and handed himself into the military authorities. He was sentenced to 34 days in a military prison and served 24 as a model inmate.” The RAF said it could not comment.

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