MAFS Australia stars not told partners had drug and violence convictions

Married at First Sight Australia stars say the show left them feeling unsafe and unprotected because their on-screen partners had criminal pasts which they were not told about, a BBC investigation can reveal. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.

It comes after the British version of the show, known to many as MAFS UK, was plunged into crisis after BBC Panorama reported rape allegations from two women contestants - allegations the men involved have denied.

One woman from last year's Australian series says she was not told the man she had been matched with had a previous drug conviction and only found out after the show ended. "There should be informed consent," she told us.

We can also reveal that another groom from the same series had a past conviction for affray, which we understand his on-screen bride was not made aware of.

Nine former cast members from MAFS Australia have spoken to the BBC and are now calling on the show to improve its background checks and to stop allowing individuals with previous convictions or allegations on the show.

MAFS Australia is not made by the same production company as MAFS UK. Endemol Shine Australia is behind the show, which airs in Australia on Channel 9.

In a joint statement, Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said they had "strong protocols in place to ensure participant safety and wellbeing".

As well as being a huge hit in Australia, the show is popular in the UK and is shown on Channel 4. The broadcaster has pulled all the UK episodes of MAFS from its streaming service All 4, but MAFS Australia remains available to watch.

Both programmes show single people agreeing to "marry" total strangers after meeting for the first time at their mock weddings.

The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on "honeymoons", before moving in together and navigating their relationships - all while being filmed, almost every day.

Several male contestants have been allowed on MAFS Australia despite having been convicted of, or having faced allegations of, violence, assault or drug use.

The BBC is reporting some of these details for the first time, while others have previously been reported in Australian media. We found many of the details in court records on a publicly accessible database.

Some female cast members we spoke to told us they had not been informed about their partners' criminal pasts when they were matched.

When we asked Channel 9 whether they had been - the broadcaster did not answer that specific question, but told us its protocols did not include sharing personal or background information between participants.

Sierah Swepstone, from last year's series, says she feels let down by the show's producers. She was cast with Billy Belcher, who was arrested and sentenced in 2014 for multiple drug-related offences in Perth. She says she was not told about his previous conviction and only found out after the show ended. "You shouldn't be left alone with a stranger with a criminal record," Swepstone told us. "At the very least, there should be informed consent. They should let us know. Why is the show accepting that risk on our behalf? We should have the choice." Swepstone now feels strongly that she was not protected on the show and says it failed in its duty of care towards her. "Brides are not safe on MAFS Australia," she says. Belcher did not respond to a request for comment.

Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia pointed us to a previous statement which said: "Billy was completely honest with production about the life lessons he learnt when he was 18, after receiving a suspended sentence with good behaviour for drug related offences." They also said there were no accusations or convictions in relation to violence or abuse of any sort.

Another former contestant also told us her on-screen partner had told her during filming that he had behaved aggressively in the past, and that producers knew. "I was terrified the whole time," says the woman, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions. We are calling her Anna. "I thought I'd be safe, that's why I signed up to the show." She was left traumatised by her experience, she says. He had a temper, Anna says, and on one occasion threw a mic-pack at a wall, smashing it into pieces while swearing. Another time, she says he threw an object at producers during filming. BBC News has also seen a picture of a bruise she sent during filming to a number that we have verified belongs to her on-screen partner, who responded: "Shit! I'm so sorry."