Channel 4 has sparked a fierce debate with plans to turn migrant boat crossings into prime time entertainment by asking ordinary Brits to make the journey.
The broadcaster has dropped a trailer for the new reality show in which six people with ‘polarised opinions’ are challenged to make the journey from refugee hotspots across the world before crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Provocatively entitled ‘Go Back to Where You Come From’, the show debuts on February 3 with the participants setting out from Mogadishu in Somalia and Raqqa in Syria.
Channel 4 insisted the ‘thoughtful and impactful’ programme would reveal the ‘terrifying perils asylum seekers face when they attempt to travel to the UK’.
But the makers were accused of trivialising the issue in a sensationalist bid to win ratings.
‘This A Place in the Sun meets Benefits Street-style show will do little to convey the true reality of what refugees have had to endure before fleeing to safety,’ said Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais.
‘You can’t mimic the experience of war, torture, persecution and modern slavery through the sanitised lens of reality TV.’
The show is based on an Australian version which first aired in 2011 when that country was embroiled in a migrant crisis of its own.
GB News contributor Chloe Dobbs is among the six participants

The six will be challenged to take the same journey, from start to finish, as thousands of migrants entering the UK each year
The Australian show ran for four series and even included a celebrity edition, sparking a national debate about the treatment of asylum seekers in the country’s detention centres.
The British version features six individuals, named as Dave, Bushra, Chloe, Nathan, Mathilda and Jess, across four episodes as they follow in the footsteps of migrants who have crossed continents to enter the UK.
The series is set to ‘confront, educate, anger, shock and tug at the heartstrings of liberals, the right wing and everyone in between’, the channel boasted.
But Amnesty International slammed the concept as insensitive and ‘deeply disappointing’.
‘The miserable title, along with the prospect of seeing a handful of Britons sampling experiences they can never really share with the people who truly endure them for months or even years on end, may be sensational enough to attract viewers,’ said the group’s refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds.
‘But serious subjects like the plight — and all too frequent death — of people seeking asylum deserve more sensitivity, more attention to real experience and more education about their circumstances and rights than this show seems designed or capable of offering.’
Mohamed Omar, head of expert partnerships at Refugee Action warned that the programme could inflame the issue still further.
‘It is vital the public has access to full and accurate information about the asylum system,’ he added. ‘Misinformation and dehumanisation only lead to the racist violence we saw last summer.

Nathan, 32, owns a haulage business in Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Dave is a 35-year-old chef from Nottingham

Bushra Shaikh is a 41-year-old small business owner from Surrey and has also been a guest commentator on the BBC and ITV’s GMB

Mathilda is a 29-year-old podcaster from London

‘Can’t wait for you all to see the crazy experience we went through!’ Chloe tweeted
‘But the perpetuation and normalisation of racist tropes around who ‘belongs’ here, even as part of a well-intentioned show, risks compounding racial injustice.
‘This could have been an opportunity to centre authentic, lived experiences — especially people with connections to the countries involved — to create a powerful narrative.’
Channel Four said the production company, Minnow Films, had a long track record of award-winning documentaries and had consulted migrant charities, including the UN Refugee Agency, during production.
Executive producer Liam Humphreys said: ‘We are thrilled to be working with C4 on this audacious and ground-breaking idea which will provide a unique and compelling perspective on the plight and flight of asylum seekers.
‘Go Back To Where You Came From is a perfect illustration of how a controversial and thought-provoking format can, through a very human focus, challenge preconceptions and ignite the national debate.’

Migrants board a smuggler’s boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024

Migrants gather as French police officers dismantle their makeshift camp near Dunkirk, France
Commissioning editors Anna Miralis and Madonna Benjamin, admitted the series would spark ‘intense debate’ when it was announced last summer.
‘This is an extremely bold commission that continues to reinforce the Channel’s commitment to tackle difficult and highly relevant subject matter,’ they said in a statement.
‘It is hoped that this will offer up an opportunity for the British public to help understand some of the terrifying perils asylum seekers face when they attempt to travel to the UK.
‘The adaptation of this multi-award-winning Australian format will be thoughtful and impactful, and is likely to create an intense debate about an issue that Britain has grappled with for decades.’
A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said this week the series would ‘unflinchingly depict the dangerous realities of fleeing persecution and seeking asylum, hearing from real refugees and asylum seekers throughout’.

The broadcaster said the series would feature an attempted boat crossing of the channel

And it said it would be focusing on whether the six changed their opinions on the subject
‘The series explores the varied and sometimes polarised opinions in our society in a fresh way,’ she added. ‘It may help provoke empathy and deeper understanding of this issue.’
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said he would reserve judgement.
‘Television shows have huge potential to highlight the human stories behind the headlines and we hope that this series will help people to empathise with refugees and the terrifying journeys that they make in search of safety,’ he added.
Go Back to Where You Come From debuts on Channel 4 on February 3 at 9pm.
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