Channel 4 has axed a reality show after being bombarded with complaints from viewers and even its own contestants. 

The provocatively тιтled, Go Back To Where You Came From, aired earlier this year as a four-part series produced by Minnow Films and was based on an explosive Australian format.

It featured Dave, Bushra, Chloe, Nathan, Mathilda and Jess who had ‘polarised opinions’ on issues surrounding migrants and showed them the experience of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel. 

The series took the group of Brits to Mogadishu in Somalia and Raqqa in Syria and was pitched as a ‘thoughtful and impactful’ programme. 

However, the show won’t see a second series according to The Sun, after viewing figures disappointed. 

An insider told the publication: ‘Of course, Channel 4 will maintain they only made this as a stand alone show but the scope to continue the show with another batch of Brits was obvious.

Channel 4 has axed reality show Go Back To Where You Came From after being bombarded with complaints from viewers and even its own contestants

It featured Dave, Bushra, Chloe, Nathan, Mathilda and Jess who had ‘polarised opinions’ on issues surrounding migrants and showed them the experience of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel. Pictured, a group of people thought to be migrants entering Dover

‘If the ratings were higher then it might well have had a sequel, but it didn’t seem to capture the viewers’ imaginations, even if some of the contestants’ views did inspire a fiery response.’

It comes after Channel 4 faced backlash from watchers who said they had to ‘switch off’ the show and a contestant who claimed there were ‘red flags’.

One viewer posted on X: ‘I’ve had to switch off#gobacktowhereyoucamefrom. The levels of ignorance, lack of education and the complete lack of empathy for other human beings never fails to astound me’;

‘Programme is a set up! Bye. #gobacktowhereyoucamefrom.’;

‘I was considering watching #gobacktowhereyoucamefrom but decided against it as I’m sure the ignorance on display would only annoy and depress me.’ 

However, some viewers had more positive takes on the programme and one said: ‘Just watched the final episode of #gobacktowhereyoucamefrom I was so relieved when the anti participants formed a different view, once they saw the reality of what those people (fleeing whatever horrors) suffer as they attempt to find better lives, free from wars and persecution.’;

The series took the group of Brits to Mogadishu in Somalia and Raqqa in Syria and was pitched as a ‘thoughtful and impactful’ programme. Mathilda featured on the show as a 29-year-old podcaster from London

Bushra Shaikh featured on the show as a business owner from Surrey and has also been a guest commentator on the BBC and ITV’s GMB

‘I think the whole of the UK should watch channel 4 #gobacktowhereyoucamefrom #goback.’

A whistleblower who was approached for the show previously told The Sun how there were ‘red flags’ before he pulled out of the programme. 

He felt produces targeted participants from specific backgrounds and who had ‘extreme’ views.

The contestant said he was told the show would be a serious documentary about the refugee experience, but he discovered it was actually a controversial reality show only weeks ago.

He said: ‘They were approaching people in a really targeted way, casting ‘woke’ people like me and immigration specialists, while also going to areas with riots and civil unrest to find people. That was a red flag for me.’

Among other issues, he claimed he was told little about the direction of the series and didn’t find out about its explosive name until mid-January and was concerned about the psychological support for contestants.

It comes after Channel 4 faced backlash from some watchers who said they had to ‘switch off’ the show and a contestant who claimed there were ‘red flags’ 

Channel 4 said: ‘Duty of care and the safety of our contributors is of paramount importance and full psychological support was offered to all who took part, before, during and after filming.

‘Contributors and potential contributors were provided with a fair, accurate and appropriate programme description with sufficient detail to enable them to decide if they wanted to participate.’

Some charities also hit out at the show and accused the broadcaster of sensationalising the issue.

‘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,’ Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais, previously said.

‘You can’t mimic the experience of war, torture, persecution and modern slavery through the sanitised lens of reality TV.’

Go Back To Where You Came From also faced criticism from Amnesty International who hit out at the тιтle and argued it needed to be more sensitive.

Some charities also hit out at the show and accused the broadcaster of sensationalising the issue 

‘The miserable тιтle, 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.’

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: ‘Go Back to Where You Came From was commissioned as a single series of event television, and we are immensely proud of what it achieved in creating national conversation about a hugely important issue. Any allusions to this programme being ‘cancelled’ are entirely false.’

MailOnline has approached Minnow Films for comment.