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Agence France-Presse

Britain’s newest reality television show has been slammed as “insensitive”, “voyeuristic” and even “nauseating” for recreating with six Britons the often fatal journeys made by thousands of refugees to the UK.
Bluntly titled Go Back to Where You Came From, the part-documentary, part-reality TV show by Channel 4 follows the group of six, who hold strong views both for and against immigration.
They are divided into two teams, with one dropped into one war-ravaged Raqqa in Syria and the other sent to Mogadishu in Somalia.
Over four episodes which launched on February 3, they “experience some of the most perilous parts of the refugee journeys” according to Channel 4 – although they travel largely in armoured vehicles.
The outspoken views of some participants, as well as the show’s format, have been criticised by viewers, charities and some media.
Amnesty International UK called it “deeply disappointing” and “sensational”.
Participant and chef Dave Marshall, 35, opens the series standing on the cliffs of Dover, calling for immigrants crossing the Channel to be “blown up”.
Moments later, political commentator Chloe Dobbs, 24, says that unless immigration is reined in “Britain will be a hellhole full of people wearing burkas”.
In the first episode, the six are taken to markets where they meet families, play football with kids and accompany them as they search through litter for scraps.
At one point, when they visit a bombed-out family home in Raqqa, Marshall and two others are invited to stay the night.
“Very kind of you for offering your house to us,” Marshall replied, the irony perhaps lost on him.
“The series explores the varied and sometimes polarised opinions in our society in a fresh way,” a series spokesperson said.


In coming episodes, both groups undertake “challenges”, including a boat crossing and trekking through a Libyan desert. There is no winner of the series though.
The reality TV genre “exists and its success depends on actually performing shocking opinions”, said Myria Georgiou, media and communications professor at the London School of Economics.
“I’m sure the contestants are competing for that shock element – who is going to be more extreme in their opinions,” Georgiou said.
Dobbs defended it as a “really fun show that lots of people will tune into”.
“More so than just some bog-standard, boring documentary,” she said.
Go Back to Where You Came From is based on a popular Australian series which first ran in the early 2010s.
At around that time, politicians in Australia were campaigning to “stop the boats” of irregular migrants reaching the country.
A decade later, the same catchphrase has been seized upon by politicians opposing asylum seekers crossing the Channel to reach Britain.
The timing of the British version did not surprise Georgiou.
“You have the political leadership, nationally and globally, that have made the most outrageous opinions mainstream,” Georgiou said.
“We can see that politics have become entertainment and thus it’s no surprise that entertainment has become politics.”

Some viewers have praised Channel 4 for giving a rare prime time spot to the hot-button immigration debate, with British charity Refugee Council “welcoming” the show’s premise.
“Television shows have huge potential to highlight the human stories behind the headlines,” Refugee Council CEO Enver Solomon said.
In one heavily criticised “challenge”, the group get into a dinghy in a simulation of the often fatal Channel crossings.
For Dobbs, who has previously said small boats were made out to be “fun” by some refugees, getting into a flimsy vessel in the middle of the night was a turning point.
“It was that moment for me that it really hit me. Gosh, people must be really desperate to get on these boats,” she acknowledged.
However, clips of the simulation sparked outrage across the Channel, with French politician Xavier Bertrand calling for the “nauseating” show to be cancelled.
“Hundreds of people have died in the Channel in recent years. This situation is a humanitarian tragedy, not the subject of a game,” Bertrand said on X.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Britain on small boats after crossing the Channel rose to more than 36,800 in 2024, according to official data.
It was also the deadliest year for migrant crossings, with at least 76 deaths recorded.
According to Dobbs, the show wanted to do something “different”.
“Rather than just talking to a migrant about what the boat crossing they did was like, wouldn’t it be even better to simulate it and feel all those emotions for yourself?”
“And if it makes it more entertaining and more intriguing for the audience and means that more people tune in, I mean, that’s a win-win,” Dobbs added.


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Britain

Britain’s immigration reality TV show slammed as ‘voyeuristic and nauseating’

French officers stand on the shore as migrants attempt to cross the English Channel to reach the UK on a dinghy near Calais, northern France, on January 15. Photo: AFP

Inflatable migrant dinghies and outboard engines stored at a yard in Dover, southeast England. Photo: AFP

UK targets Chinese boat makers in new sanctions to curb migrant crossings from France

Migrants board a smuggler’s inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: AFP

The UK is cracking down on migrant crossings from France with a new sanctions regime targeting both smugglers and the Chinese manufacturers of their boats and engines. Photo: AFP

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

Plan to toughen UK migrant rules is more hot air than hot policy

Some immigration consultants in Hong Kong have said the Tories’ proposal could hit Hongkongers’ confidence in the UK’s commitment to the city. Photo: Reuters

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Go Back to Where You Came From retraces journeys of asylum seekers crossing the Channel to reach the UK


Go Back to Where You Came From retraces journeys of asylum seekers crossing the Channel to reach the UK.


Reality TV