Channel 4 nepotism row breaks out over middle-class swinger thriller The Couple Next Door after it emerges that steamy show’s writer is married to the station’s head of drama

Channel 4 has been accused of nepotism after it emerged that the writer of The Couple Next Door is married to the station’s head of drama. 

The middle-class swinger thriller is written by David Allison and was announced earlier this year as a commission by drama boss Caroline Hollick, who is also his wife.

Industry insiders last week claimed the show had become a ‘talking point’ in the British drama community after producers connected the link between Mr Allison and Ms Hollick, Deadline reported. 

But the network has now denied the allegations of nepotism, claiming that Ms Hollick had ‘recused herself’ from the programme and was ‘not involved in decision-making for the series’.

Channel 4 also alleged that Ms Hollick was ‘not involved’ in the commissioning process for the second series of Suspect, which also names her husband as one of its two writers.

Channel 4 drama The Couple Next Door stars, from left, Alfred Enoch, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jessica De Gouw and Sam Heughan

The middle-class swinger thriller is written by David Allison and was announced earlier this year as a commission by drama boss Caroline Hollick, who is also his wife 

Channel 4 took over the commissioning of The Couple Next Door, a co-production with US network STARZ, after a majority funding partner pulled out of the project.

It is understood that at this point, Ms Hollick ‘declared a conflict of interest’ and ‘stepped away’ from the programme. Commission Editor Rebecca Holdsworth reportedly led the greenlight process.

A Channel 4 spokesman told MailOnline today: ‘Caroline Hollick was not involved with the commissioning or editorial management of The Couple Next Door. 

‘She registered a conflict of interest at the early stages of the project’s development and recused herself from any decisions related to it.’

But a Channel 4 press release announcing the project in March this year said it was ‘commissioned by’ Ms Hollick, who hailed the series as an ‘addictive, emotional rollercoaster’ that addresses ‘modern sexual mores’ and features an ‘electrifying cast that will set our screens on fire’.

An industry source also told Deadline that Channel 4 will each year only commission a ‘handful of high-end dramas’, meaning opportunities for producers to ‘win business’ are ‘limited’.

The insider argued the network ‘failed to fully consider the optics’ of commissioning The Couple Next Door and claims the ‘feeling has been exacerbated by Channel 4’s fragile relations with the production sector’. 

The Couple Next Door premiered on Channel 4 last week and had an overnight audience of 1million viewers. Pictured: Sam Heughan (left) and Jessica De Gouw (right)

Mr Allison’s tweet last month about the start of filming of the second series of Suspect – in which he spoke about the joy of having two projects commissioned

The Couple Next Door premiered on Channel 4 last week and had an overnight audience of 1million viewers. 

The drama, a loose adaptation of the Dutch series New Neighbours, sees Evie (Eleanor Tomlinson) and her husband Pete (Alfred Enoch) become sexually entangled with their neighbours in a way that will change their lives for ever.

They meet neighbours, cop Danny (Sam Heughan), and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka (Jessica De Gouw) when they move to an upscale neighbourhood.

But things only become increasingly complicated as time goes on.

Ms Hollick and Mr Allison are understood to have met while working at Yorkshire Television and currently live in Leeds, where the six-part thriller is set.

Mr Allison last month announced the start of filming of the second series of Suspect, tweeting: ‘Fair to say my career of the last few years has been like waiting for a bus that never arrived…and then two came along.’