MAFS producers hit back at actor claims: 'They are real, everyday people ... they are not given scripts'

Channel Nine producers have come out swinging after several of Australia's Married At First Sight's cast members were exposed as actors.

Executive producer John Walsh told 9Honey Celebrity that while the network was aware that some of the participants had been actors or models in the past, they were not "hired" to perform on the show.

He added: "The suggestion that any of them were hired as performers to appear on Married At First Sight is categorically untrue."

MAFS' executive producer Tara McWilliams also addressed the reports, describing them as "ridiculous".

"The brides and grooms are not hired actors," she said. "They are not given scripts or lines to recite.

"They are real, everyday people who have made a lot of sacrifices to participate in this experiment, leaving their families, their homes and their jobs."

It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed almost half of this year's participants are part-time actors, having appeared in movies, reality shows and commercials.

For example, despite being billed as a "barista" on the show, 28-year-old Billy Vincent is actually a model and part-time actor.

His biggest role to date was playing the lead in a McDonald's advert, which aired across Australia in 2012.

In the commercial, Billy plays a shirtless surfer struggling to find cash.

Billy's "wife" Susie Bradley, 25, is also no stranger to being in front of the camera.

In January, the mother-of-one starred in an advert for Queensland-based fitness company Peptides Direct.

In the promotional film, Susie is shown in bed wearing racy lingerie alongside a tattooed gentleman, who plays her boyfriend.

Tamara Joy, also known as Tamara Laing, appears to be a budding actress. Photo / Supplied

Meanwhile, Tamara Joy likewise appears to be a budding actress.

The 29-year-old human resources manager has a StarNow profile listing herself as an "actor, extra and model".

It appears that she uses a stage name on Married At First Sight, with her real name being Tamara Laing.

Dino Hira, 34, is perhaps this season's most accomplished screen talent.

After spending several years as a small-time actor in various productions, he appeared in Australian movie Eleven Days in 2018.

In May, just four months before filming his MAFS wedding, Dino boasted of his passion for acting on Instagram.

He wrote: "When the director says 'Action!' I get a thrill in the feeling that it is my chance to forget my own past or my future and embrace living in the character I play!"

Dino, who is billed as a "meditation coach" on MAFS, also featured in a campaign for prescription glasses company Speqs with co-star Jessika Power in 2017.

In a surprising twist, Dino's "ex-wife" Melissa Lucarelli happens to be an aspiring actress too.

In addition to her day job as a talent agent, the 38-year-old has previously starred as an extra in Home and Away.

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Constable A. Nader 👮‍♀️

A post shared by Melissa Lucarelli (@mellucarelli) on Nov 22, 2017 at 12:20am PST

An IMDB page under Melissa's name lists an upcoming role in an Australian production titled The Script of Life.

Of course, Melissa isn't the only Married At First Sight star to have made an appearance on Home and Away.

Sam Ball starred as a 'River Boy' during scenes that aired in January 2018.

Last year, he made several appearances in crime thriller series, Secret City, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

In his now-deleted Star Now acting profile, Sam wrote: "I have a tendency of making people say 'wow' after every experience."

Before finding fame on Married At First Sight, Gold Cost-based electrician Mike Gunner previously starred in a low-budget movie.

Footage resurfaced last month of the 43-year-old playing a gun-toting criminal in an unknown project.

"He always wanted to be a model or actor," an ex-girlfriend recently said.

Bronson Norrish, who was described as an "entrepreneur" on the show, is also no stranger to the spotlight.

The 35-year-old, going by the stage name "Bronson Foxx", worked as a stripper for several years before retiring to start his own business.

Prior to filming Married At First Sight, he notably appeared as a contestant on Australian Ninja Warrior.