Network Ten and production company Warner Bros have hit back after tabloids looked to spoil the result - and ratings bonanza - of the upcoming Bachelor finale.
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An article, published on the Australian version of a British gossip website on Monday, delved into details of an apparent romantic getaway between Matty Johnson and series favourite Laura Byrne over the weekend.
The article, which included photos of Byrne the site says "proves" she's the winner, had left Ten and Warner Bros in "damage control", The Daily Telegraph reported.
But a spokesperson for Ten said despite the headlines, no "emergency meeting" was held by the network.
"Media interest in The Bachelor Australia increases every year, which is testament to the enduring popularity of the show," the network said in a statement.
"This season there has been an extraordinary number of completely false, misleading and ludicrous speculative stories about Matty's journey, the Bachelorettes and even the final result."
Byrne, 30, a Sydney-based accessories designer whose resemblance to last year's Bachelorette Georgia Love has been a major talking point among fans this season, has been a favourite on the show since its opening episodes, when she was the first to score a kiss from Matty J.
The article, which said Johnson and Byrne enjoyed a weekend away at Sydney's Blue Mountains, also outlined the alleged tactics the network used to prevent details of its "winner" being leaked.
The cover-up, the article says, includes the use of decoy Uber fares to make sure the couple aren't traced to each other, production crew cars running red lights to lose chasing photographers, and fake Instagram posts from Matty J himself - including recycled pics of him at the snow, originally posted in July - aimed at misdirecting viewers.
"Network Ten trusts that viewers know not to believe everything they might read about The Bachelor Australia, neither do they want the result of the show ruined for them, and we are looking forward to sharing Matty's true experience in the coming weeks," Ten's statement continued.
The current season of Ten's reality hit has been plagued by the prospect of spoilers even before its premiere, when paparazzi shopped around images taken of the last two contestants at the final rose ceremony.
Last season's finale, when Richie Strahan picked Melbourne mum Alex Nation (a short-lived affair), pulled in 1.39 million viewers for Ten, their biggest ratings haul of the year outside Masterchef's finale and Bathurst 1000 coverage.
The Bachelor's season finale is due to air on Ten on September 14.
