A COUPLE from Bolton are set to appear in a new  Channel 4 show looking at sex and relationships.

The programme, Open House: The Great Sex Experiment, explores whether relationships would work better if they were not exclusive.

Open is a bold new social experiment, following a group of currently monogamous couples as they explore for the first time whether they would be happier in an open relationship.

Society deems that people should remain monogamous, yet research shows that around 42 per cent of marriages now end in divorce. The show aims to answer the questions including whether couples would stay together if their relationships were more open? And is the human race really meant to mate for life, or are we by nature polygamous?

And in the first episode a married couple from Bolton may  find themselves   to tackling issues from their past if they’re to explore their fantasies.

Though still largely taboo, the question of whether humans are truly suited for monogamy is a universal preoccupation which continues to divide opinion, not only among scientists, but among the public at large.

Assisted by sex therapists and relationship coaches, the couples will embark on a series of intimate challenges to road-test if the idea of having sex with other people is at odds with maintaining a committed relationship.

The experts set a series of challenges for the participants in an effort to work out whether getting intimate with someone other than their partner will enhance or ruin their current relationship.

The six-part series was commissioned by Head of Factual Entertainment Alf Lawrie with commissioning editors, Tim Hancock and Vivienne Molokwu. 

Tim Hancock said, “This provocative new series confronts a profound and unsettling question that is rarely asked openly – but with the insight, warmth and sensitivity of the best factual entertainment formats.”

Jes Wilkins said: “I’m delighted to be in at the start of C4’s Global Format Fund journey with a new series that has so many of the provocative and purposeful hallmarks of successful shows that Firecracker have made for Channel 4 in the past.”

Last year, the company launched a search for participants, asking: “Do you want to explore a freer lifestyle and relationship? Married or in a committed relationship?

“Curious about open relationships and seeing other people while remaining together?”

Clearly plenty of people answered in a positive fashion, because just a few months later, the resulting show is set to air.

The show’s maker is Firecracker Films, whose previous projects include The Customer Is Always Right, Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over and Emma Willis: Delivering Babies.

The programme os the latest in a long line of relationships-based series from Channel 4, which also includes the likes of First Dates, Naked Attraction, The Love Trap, The Language of Love and Flirty Dancing.

The series will begin on Friday, 1 April 2022 at 10PM on Channel 4.