The final weeks of Married At First Sight have begun. As the end approaches, a debate has flared up between the programme’s behavioral biologist, Patrick van Veen, and the producer ITV. Patrick tells Veronica Superguide more about this, because for him this may mean that he will not continue with the program.
Good television not in line with principles
In the love program Married At First Sight we see different people who are matched with each other. One couple fits together perfectly, the other couple breaks up again in no time. We almost know which couples are still together and which are not. In the meantime, a discussion has arisen between behavioral biologist Patrick van Veen and ITV, the producer of the program. This is due to a breach of trust between the experts and the producer. “Unfortunately, the matching process was not always pleasant,” says Patrick.
Patrick says that he does not always agree with the producers of Married At First Sight. The editors sometimes steer the experts in a certain direction when making a match. Patrick wants more peace and time at such a time; According to him, everything has to be done very quickly.
Long match by Married At First Sight
For Patrick and his fellow experts Eveline, Radboud and Anne, it’s all about one thing: making long-lasting matches. Patrick finds it annoying to notice that ITV and RTL are more focused on making TV and that they sometimes whisper things that he does not agree with. “Making exciting television is not always in line with finding a good match,” says Patrick. Patrick also thinks that viewers, the media and science also feel that disagreement. “The reviews are harsh and viewers think we do everything for the ratings.”
Context is not reflected in the program
Patrick previously proudly announced that there would be more attention to the matching process in the new season. This would bring more conversations to the fore about why a candidate was still single. Unfortunately, nothing came of that context, according to Patrick. “The viewer does not understand why I pushed some couples so much. As an outsider you don’t understand that context,” says Patrick. That is more than ever this season according to Patrick.
New production team
According to the behavioral biologist, the problem mainly lies with the new production team of Married At First Sight. “With the previous editor-in-chief and some editors, we knew exactly what we had in each other. Unfortunately, that has changed this season: the team is quite inexperienced and therefore they do not always know what I want.” For example, Patrick’s advice to give some couples time on their honeymoon was not listened to. “I really understand that TV has to be made, but sometimes the time pressure was very high.”
Evaluation interview
Producer ITV has announced that they will discuss how they experienced everything together with Carlo Boszhard and the experts of the program. For Patrick it is clear: “If we continue in the same way next year, then I will say no.” If there is an opportunity for improvement, he is happy to cooperate again. He still enjoys making the program. “I don’t come from the TV world myself and am used to open communication, but unfortunately that is not always the case here. Sometime in the coming weeks we will have an evaluation meeting with ITV about what can be improved, so I’m looking forward to that,” says Patrick.
