Channel 4 will not be renewing its controversial social experiment Go Back to Where You Came From, with spokesperson saying that it was commissioned as a single series

Channel 4 will not be renewing its social experiment Go Back to Where You Came From, with reports that it has been axed over low ratings.

The series assembled six Brits with different views on immigration and challenged them with making the perilous journeys that some make to get to the UK in a bid to inform their views on what refugees go through.

A TV insider told The Sun: “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.

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

The Channel 4 series has been axed after one series ( 
Image:
Minnow)

A spokesperson for Channel 4 told The Mirror: “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.”

The series saw the group, which featured a TikToker and a GB News commentator, trek across Mogadishu, Somalia and Raqqa in Syria as they navigated trecherous migrant routes to get to the UK.

The series aired back in February, but had caused controversy before it even began – with viewers taking to social media to complain about the trailer.

“I’m all for a bit of controversy but I think @Channel4 have taken it too far with this one!!!” wrote one viewer, while a second commented: “#Channel4 new Documentary #GoBackToWhereYouCameFrom on TV in 2025 – people GO to #Syria to SEE why/how boats are coming to #uk Thats gonna open up a chain of carnage.”

An insider told The Express ahead of the series debut that the participants were subjected to “constant filming” and that the show was “dangerous” enough to necessitate “armed security”.

The source revealed: “Filming was constant for at least four weeks and participants would not be allowed to leave filming at any point – not even for a couple of days. Producers told me that participants would experience the life of an immigrant and would also meet with immigrants in Africa, Asia and Europe trying to get to the UK.”