Married At First Sight UK star George Roberts has been arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour.
The Sun is linking Roberts to an arrest made in Worcestershire last week, with the Metropolitan Police having since released a statement saying the suspect has been bailed.
It was reported that the arrest was made on Thursday (September 29). Last night's (October 3) pre-recorded episode of E4's Married at First Sight UK included scenes featuring Roberts.
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A statement from police read: "A 40-year-old man was arrested in Worcestershire on Thursday, September 29, on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour.
"He was taken to a police station and bailed pending further enquiries."
Digital Spy has reached out to Channel 4 over whether Roberts' arrest will have any impact on the airing of future episodes of this current series.
Related: Married At First Sight UK announces huge format change for one couple
This news comes after Roberts denied criticisms regarding his behaviour from former girlfriends to The Sun newspaper, with a spokesperson saying he found the claims "deeply upsetting and does not condone abuse nor behaves in that way".
At the time, Channel 4 (which owns Married At First Sight UK channel E4) said: "We work incredibly closely with our production partners to ensure all Married At First Sight UK contributors are subject to rigorous background and psychological checks, including the most detailed police checks a production is able to undertake.
"Any allegations of this nature are taken extremely seriously by Channel 4."
Following Roberts' reported arrest, E4 continued to air a pre-recorded show which featured him. Concern has been expressed as to how this might appear to viewers, given that police have apparently regarded the allegations as serious enough to make an arrest.
An insider told The Sun: "This has been rumbling on for a while but now the police are involved, so many involved in the show thought surely they would have to pull it off air – or at the very least re-edit it. This has become a nightmare for the network, who didn't know about allegations in his past before."
Related: Married At First Sight star regrets doing show and brands editing "unacceptable"
Roberts has been partnered up with April Banbury on the current season of Married At First Sight UK.
Contestants on the show are matched and undertake a non legally-binding commitment ceremony, and then decide each week whether they want to continue with their relationship or leave the programme.
Married at First Sight UK airs on E4 in the UK. Married at First Sight Australia airs on Nine Network in Australia and E4 in the UK.
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Organisations including Women's Aid can provide further support and information on coercive control or coercive behaviour.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
