Yahoo Sports MAFS' George Roberts has been arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour
A cast member from Married At First Sight UK, George Roberts, has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour. During the current series 'country bumpkin' Roberts was married off to April Banbury, a 'city girl' - however, their 'marriage contract' is not legally binding.
The news follows criticisms made by former girlfriends to The Sun newspaper, in response to which Roberts strongly denied any wrongdoing, releasing a statement last month via his rep saying that any and all accusations levelled at him are "deeply upsetting" and that he "does not condone abuse".
Reports led by The Sun say Roberts has since been arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour. Despite being bailed, the new stories add that Roberts is still being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
In a statement, the Met said: "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."
Since the arrest on 29 September, E4 have continued to air the current series of MAFS featuring Roberts ad Banbury's 'marriage'.
Concerns have been raised about this decision following the 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."
It is not yet known whether or not E4 will edit him out from the series entirely moving forward - Cosmopolitan UK have reached out for clarification on this but had not heard back at the time of publication.
Speaking about the allegations when they initially surfaced, a spokesperson from Channel 4 (who run 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."
You Might Also Like
