| Go Back to Where You Came From | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ivan O'Mahoney |
| Presented by | Dr David Corlett |
| Narrated by | Colin Friels |
| Theme music composer | Hans Baker |
| Composer | Gordon Wittoch |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Peter Newman, John Godfrey, Michael Cordell, Nick Murray |
| Producer | Rick McPhee |
| Cinematography | Ben Foley, Mark Hooper, Nick McInerney |
| Editor | Tomas O'Brien |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Cordell Jigsaw Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | SBS TV |
| Release | 21 June 2011 (2011-06-21) – 4 October 2018 (2018-10-04) |
Go Back to Where You Came From is an Australian TV documentary series. It was produced byCordell Jigsaw Productions and broadcast in 2011 (Season 1), 2012 (Season 2), 2015 (Season 3) and 2018 (Season 4) onSBS.
The series followed two parties, each of six Australians, all members having differing opinions on Australia'sasylum seeker debate, being taken on a journey in reverse to that which refugees have taken to reach Australia.
The six Australian participants were Gleny Rae, Adam Hartup, Raquel Moore, Darren Hassan, Raye Colbey, and Roderick Schneider. Deprived of their wallets, phones and passports, they board a leaky refugee boat (from which they are rescued mid-ocean), experience immigration raids inMalaysia, live inKakuma Refugee Camp in far north-westKenya, visit slums inJordan before ultimately making it to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo andIraq, protected byUN Peacekeepers and theUS military.[1] In the final episode, the participants are debriefed for their response to the experiences.
The celebrity participants for the 2012 season werePeter Reith,Angry Anderson,Allan Asher,Catherine Deveny, Mike Smith andImogen Bailey.[2] The participants were placed on a rickety boat bound forChristmas Island.[3]
Over three episodes, the six Australians also experienced mortal danger on the streets of the world's deadliest cities – from the sweltering, war-torn capital ofSomalia,Mogadishu, to the riotous streets ofKabul, freezing amidst the mountains ofAfghanistan. They also travelled to theChristmas Island Detention Centre.[4]
The six participants for the 2015 season were Davy (former refugee),Kim ('Stop the Boats'Facebook campaigner), Nicole Judge[5] (detention centre whistle blower), Jodi and Renee (sisters with opposing views) and Andrew (a tough-talking school teacher).[6]
Three episodes were shown on 2–4 October 2018, including live crosses to the participants as events unfolded. The episodes were hosted from a studio with hostsRay Martin andJanice Petersen. Participants includedJacqui Lambie, Marina (Sydney lawyer and former refugee from Sarajevo), Steve (former prison guard from Adelaide),Gretel Killeen,Peter Everitt andMeshel Laurie.[7]
On its premiere night, the series became the number onetrending topic onTwitter worldwide.[8]
Go Back To Where You Came From's viewing figures made it the highest-rating programme for SBS in 2011. An estimated 524,000 metropolitan viewers watched the first episode, followed by 569,000 for the second and 600,000 for the third.[9]
The broadcaster subsequently held a televised forum event to reflect on the series and the public debate about asylum seekers.[10]
In 2019,TV Week listedGo Back to Where You Came From at No. 94 in its list of the 101 greatest Australian television shows of all time, which appeared in its monthlyTV Week Close Up publication.[11] The magazine recognised the show for introducing Australian audiences to powerful, immersive television during the heat of the asylum seeker debate, and for its achievement in being the top trend on Twitter internationally when it debuted.[11]
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The series has had international versions after the concept was sold to the following countries: