One former worker says she felt cast members were “manipulated”, even by the standards of reality TV.
It is not unusual for reality TV producers to try to control content, but MAFS UK’s content focuses on one of the most sensitive topics of all – sex and intimacy.
“The premise of the show is people finding love, but that isn’t what viewers want, that’s boring to watch and gets icky,” says Spiers. “They’re looking for fireworks, clashes and drama.”
Other former workers claim producers manufactured confrontations between cast members.
“It would be going up to them and saying, ‘do you know so-and-so said so-and-so’,” one says. “The idea would be to get that person angry.”
When friction was particularly high, another says, lots of the crew would gather to watch it unfold.
“It was sickening how into it they were,” he said.
We have also heard that production staff were told to “ramp up trigger points”.
At one of the show’s set-piece dinner parties, a former worker claims she saw cast members plied with alcohol.
“That is not gold-standard welfare,” she says.
CPL’s lawyers have told the BBC that alcohol intake during dinner parties is limited and overseen by executive producers and the welfare team. They say it is incorrect that contributors are allowed as much alcohol as they want.
They also say CPL refutes any suggestion it prioritises entertainment over the welfare of contributors or that drama is engineered by production at the expense of the contributors.