Outrage at the final airing of Channel Four’s controversial documentary Make Bradford British was expressed last night by Council Leader Ian Greenwood.
He criticised Channel Four for not intervening when a local participant, Sabbiyah, was grabbed on the knee in local pub The Boy and Barrel, in Westgate, by a local who criticised her dress and her presence in the pub, filmed as part of the ‘social experiment’ involving eight Bradfordians.
Damon, Sabbiyah, Desmond, Audrey, Jens, Mohammed, Maura and Rashid were recruited for the programme which posed the question of what it means to be British.
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 eight of them were chosen to live together Big Brother-style.
This week’s episode saw four pairs live together in each other’s houses similar to Wife Swap – another Channel Four reality programme. Sparks flew when Sabbiyah spent time in Audrey’s pub and Mohammed stormed out of Maura’s house after her questions upset him. Damon and Rashid got on and embraced each other’s way of life.
Coun Greenwood was not happy with the scenes in the Boy and Barrel. He said: “That man’s actions were unacceptable in any culture.
“She (Sabbiyah) was right to be upset and for a television programme to allow that to continue in that way is absolutely unacceptable. I think it is a disgrace.
“She did not know it would be like that, it was just another pub to her and she had never been in one in her life.”
We asked some of the panelists who reviewed last week’s programme what they thought of last night’s offering.
Zulfi Karim, general secretary of the Bradford Council For Mosques, said that children had to be educated from a very early age about tolerance and better understanding of one another.
“I thought it was quite emotional in places, more so than last week,” he added.
“It has opened up old wounds and I think politics need to come into it to address those issues highlighted.
“This was a worthwhile exercise only if politicians do something about it.
“How do we celebrate what unites us rather than highlight what divides us?”
Jane Vincent, one of the organisers of Positive Bradford, said that she thought the epsiode was good but still disagreed with the name of the show.
“It was very awkward in the pub and that highlights to me how educating and having a better understanding of other people is something that needs to happen across the UK.
“I thought Damon was a superstar though because he embraced all of it.”
Rudi Leavor, chairman of Bradford Synagogue, said that he was so disgusted with last week’s episode he did not watch this week’s screening.
“I did not want to expose myself to such trash and I read what they said would be in it and did not want to watch,” he added.
A Channel Four spokesman has previously said that the programme was a carefully-considered and responsible documentary series which aimed to overcome stereotypes and preconceptions, to uncover the shared values and common ground in what it means to be ‘British’.
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