Love Is Blind UK stars raise welfare concerns as Netflix show under fire amid Married at First Sight saga

Among the allegations made by the pair were claims that personal information was passed on in order to create storylines.

“We’re puppets to them,” Ms Richards told Deadline. “They say [there is] welfare, but it’s not welfare. They work for production, and they need storylines.”

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Ms Richards claimed she had confided in welfare workers about a disagreement with her on-screen partner Freddie Powell, only for cameras to arrive at their Camden accommodation shortly afterwards.

Mr Singleton-Hill described the welfare provision as creating a false sense of security. “My experience of welfare was that they make you feel like it’s a safe space, but they use it as ammunition. It’s a really toxic environment,” he said.

CPL Productions, which makes both Love Is Blind: UK and Married at First Sight UK, rejected the allegations. The company maintained that participants were clearly informed before filming that welfare staff would escalate concerns to producers when necessary.

A CPL spokesperson stated to Deadline: “A strict distinction was maintained between production welfare, which escalates concerns when necessary, and fully confidential, independent psychological support.”

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The production company said comprehensive safeguarding measures were implemented throughout, including psychological assessments before filming, daily welfare monitoring on set, and continued access to support during and after broadcast.

GB News has contacted CPL for further comment.

Meanwhile, Netflix disputed Ms Richards’ account of events, stating that cameras visited her the following day rather than within minutes, and only with her consent.

Ms Richards maintained her version was accurate, telling Deadline: “I know the truth, so that is all that matters.”

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A Netflix spokesperson emphasised to the publication that contributor wellbeing remained “paramount” and that protocols were constantly reviewed.

GB News has contacted Netflix for further comment.

These allegations against Love Is Blind: UK emerge as the reality television industry faces intense scrutiny following the Married at First Sight UK scandal.

Last week, BBC News reported that two women alleged they were raped while filming the Channel 4 programme, with a third claiming she experienced a non-consensual sex act. All three men accused have denied any wrongdoing.

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MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee have since written to both Channel 4 and Ofcom expressing “serious concerns” about how the broadcaster has handled the situation.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, the committee’s chair, questioned whether “enough is being done” to “protect people taking part in reality television.”

Channel 4 chief executive Priya Dogra apologised last week, saying she was “deeply sorry” for the distress caused to the women involved. She confirmed a review into contributor welfare was underway, with findings expected in late summer.

Ms Richards argued that welfare teams on reality programmes should operate independently from production, allowing participants to discuss their feelings without fear of the information being used as content.

Former Love Island contestant Sharon Gaffka echoed this view in The Guardian, writing that welfare teams remain “embedded within production structures” and sit “within the same ecosystem as the people responsible for delivering storylines, ratings and ‘successful television.'”

Ms Gaffka argued that safeguarding should become “entirely independent from production and commissioning” and function as “its own specialist entity with real authority.”