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BBC Calais Migrant Camp

BBC1 Songs of Praise visits Calais migrant camp

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

August 7, 2015 | 2 min read

BBC1's Songs of Praise is reportedly filming in the controversial Calais migrant camp, a site front and centre of immigration debates in the UK.

The French camp, which houses an estimated 5,000 people, many of whom were displaced by conflict in North Africa, has dominated headlines in recent weeks.

The Songs of Praise crew will shoot scenes in and around the camp from 8-9 August, during which they will enter a makeshift chapel at the centre of the community to document the lives of the faithful clergy members intent on starting life anew in the UK.

The camp has reported that at least nine inhabitants have died in a bid to traverse the Channel Tunnel for British asylum. Coverage of the site could raise awareness of the appalling conditions occupants are stuck with.

Following a heated article in The Sun regarding the show's out-of-sorts camp visit, social media erupted in conflict between those supporting the segment and its goal to humanise the camp’s inhabitants, and those complaining it was a waste of the license fee.

A BBC spokesperson issued a statement to clarify the slot: “Songs of Praise is a magazine style programme. Each week it brings hymns from churches around the UK and short topical magazine features of interests to Christians from a range of places.”

They added that no release date has been set for the episode yet.

BBC Calais Migrant Camp

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