16 September 2024, 15:14
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Married at First Sight star Alex Henry has been jailed for abandoning his post to appear on the hit dating show.
The RAF airman was stationed at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria, an electronic warfare base, when he was denied permission to appear on the dating show by his commanding officer.
Henry, 28, appealed for extra leave to take part in the show and when he was refused went awol, The Sun reported.
On his return, Henry was detained by military police and was handed a 34-day sentence, only serving 24 days.
Henry’s spokesman told the paper: “He returned after filming of his own volition and handed himself into the military authorities.
“He was sentenced to 34 days in a military prison and served 24 as a model inmate.
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Henry’s involvement in the show caused huge controversy after several women accused him of abuse.
After broadcaster E4 released a promo video of Henry on the dating show, comments beneath the post made a series of allegations.
Domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid addressed his involvement in the series after the accusations against him: “We are incredibly disappointed and concerned to hear that producers of Married at First Sight have taken the decision not to remove an alleged abuser from the latest series.
“Having seen the direct impact of abusive behaviours displayed on the show in previous years on survivors, we would have hoped that protection and tolerance levels for abuse would leave no room for perpetrators to be given a platform again, with their actions being televised as ‘entertainment’.
“Sadly, this decision demonstrates the lack of awareness that the production team still has when it comes to domestic abuse.”
They added: “At Women’s Aid, we would urge the producers to reconsider how they approach this, for the sake of the contestants to whom they have a responsibility to protect; and to signal to survivors that the entertainment industry takes their experiences seriously.”
Commenting on the accusations, a Channel 4 spokesperson said: “The welfare of our contributors is of paramount importance and, as such, we take all allegations of unacceptable behaviour seriously. We are aware of a single allegation against a Married at First Sight UK 2024 contributor and we have responded directly to those who came to us with that allegation.
“As part of our responsibility to safeguard our contributors, everyone taking part in MAFSUK undergoes a rigorous vetting process, involving a criminal record check and multiple psychological evaluations, before they can be cleared to take part.
“The DBS (criminal record) check carried out on the contributor raised in the allegation was returned clean. We cast contributors based on the information we are legally able to access and we continue to review this process to ensure checks are as thorough as legally possible.”
Married at First Sight UK premiers tonight at 9pm. Henry is not expected to be removed from the show.
LBC has contacted Henry for comment.