The outcry over a planned television show called Make Bradford British intensified today as furious community leaders said they were “sick to death” of film crews belittling the city with “gross overstatements”.

Channel 4, maker of the controversial TV reality show focusing on racial differences in Bradford, is being accused of sensationalism – three months before the two-part documentary goes on air.

Channel 4 says the Big Brother-style show, which will involve house-sharing, is meant to be “a radical social experiment” to find out if people from different races, faiths and cultures can live happily together or would be better living apart.

The programme makers have admitted they chose to come back to Bradford ten years after the riots because the city is regarded as “one of the most segregated in Europe”.

But that reason has been criticised by Bradford Council leader Ian Greenwood (Lab) who said: “I think it’s a gross over-statement.

“I’m sick to death of film crews belittling our community and using us as an experimental bed.

“There’s only one reason why they come and that’s to sensationalise racial difference and make money from it. They come here knowing little about us and then they go away with no regard of the effect they will leave on the place. I’m not a fan of reality shows and that’s because they are just not real.”

Councillor Glen Miller, the leader of the Tory group of the Council, said: “If it’s Channel 4 screening it, then it’s only because they are out to sensationalise and shock. I’m proud of Bradford and think it’s a welcoming place. The fact they say it’s one of the most segregated cities in Europe annoys me.”

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the Council, said she still held on to some hope that the programme could turn round some people’s fixed negative views of the city.

“I think people’s life experiences in Bradford are quite different to it being a segregated city. I find it one of the most culturally literate places in the country. Sadly a lot of people from outside have a very fixed view of us.”

The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, said about the documentary: “What an original idea – it could be an interesting series, although we have to bear in mind ‘reality TV’ is always selective mediated reality and tells only one desired story.”

Mohammed Sehgal, president of Bradford Council for Mosques, said the documentary could be “a shocker.”

“It is a worry,” he said. “I feel we have moved on since the riots as a city. There are many positive aspects to our city and examples of how we have been united, for example when the English Defence League came and we all worked together to take a stand against them.

“I’m not saying everything is perfect but we are getting there.

“Bradford is not as bad as the national media make it out.”

Michelle Scott, of the Positive Bradford campaign, said: “The effect the documentary has on Bradford will depend on what approach the programme makers take. We wouldn’t want to see any differences sensationalised. There are challenges in Bradford but those challenges are the same in other cities.

“Hopefully if they have got a broad cross-section of people who can talk and listen and learn from each other then it might not be so bad.”

More than 100 people across the city were asked to answer questions similar to those used in the UK Citizenship test for the series before some were asked to live in a house together Big Brother-style, then paired up and swap lives akin to another Channel Four show, Wife Swap.

Out of the 100, more than 90 per cent failed the test and it was eight of those who were invited to feature in the documentary to show what happens when people who usually live segregated lives are brought together.

A Channel Four spokesman insisted the series had been made in a “responsible and sensistive” manner.

The spokesman also refuted any similarities to reality show Big Brother saying when the contributors were brought together under one roof they were free to come and go as they pleased but had the opportunity to spend time with people they would not ordinarily meet to see what common notions of Britishness would evolve between them.

The spokesman added: “This is a documentary series exploring cultural division in urban Britain, and what it means to be British.

“Issues of race, ethnicity and cultural differences are fundamental to national identity and have been handled in a responsible and sensitive manner."