Glasgow hits back at TV portrayal of Sauchiehall Street

A documentary has been slammed for its portrayal of Glasgow as a violent, racist city with one of its stars claiming to have been “exploited”.

Controversial BBC series The Street, which charts life on Sauchiehall Street, was first aired last Monday. But the city’s business groups and politicians have reacted with fury accusing the show of focusing on negative aspects of life in Glasgow.

Violence, racism, drug taking and drunken yobbery all featured heavily in the show, which was filmed nearly two years ago. There are fears programme makers Friel Kean who were also behind 2010 contentious series The Scheme could have damaged the city’s reputation in the run-up to hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Last week, Beeb bosses were on lockdown after a horrific week of headlines. In an unusual move, they refused to give journalists previews of tomorrow’s show.

Saxophonist busker Craig Nelson, who appeared on last week’s programme with pal Melo who was subjected to a racist attack, blasted: “These programmes, like the one I was in, take advantage of the people who take part in them.

“The people making these shows earn thousands while we are still here busking for change.

“People recognise me from the show but my life is exactly the same. I’ve been exposed throughout the country but I’ve got nothing to show for it. I feel I’ve been exploited. It’s like a David Attenborough show filming people like they are in a zoo.”

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said Sauchiehall Street had been unfairly singled out by the programme makers and questioned why producers didn’t choose nearby thoroughfare Buchanan Street “with its upmarket stores”.

He said: “This kind of show is looking for characters, and not always ones who show the city in the best light. That, with one or two exceptions, was what we got.

“There is a whole raft of successful businesses and organisations in Sauchiehall Street such as The Garage nightclub, the Centre for Contemporary Arts and the O2 ABC concert venue none of which were included.

“The series is being shown at a time when it’s fighting back with businesses recently voting for a Business Improvement District in the street.

“People who live in Glasgow know it doesn’t tell the full story, but the same may not be true of potential visitors to the city.”

However, he added that there was no escaping the reality of racism exposed by the show.

He said the section of the first episode which showed Melo being attacked had “brought into sharp focus a feature of our city we cannot ignore”.

Sandra White MSP, who represents the Glasgow Kelvin constituency covering the street, said she was disappointed by the show.

She said: “It’s sensationalist. It focuses on negativity. Things are more positive in the street than they’ve put forward. Maybe they just want to shock.”

Pollockshields councillor, David Meikle, said the first episode was disappointing as it was “not most people’s experience” of the city.

Fellow councillor Philip Braat said there had been a “huge effort by all manner of agencies, individuals and other organisations” to make the street a great place to work and play which he hoped would come across in the remaining programmes.

Business owners on the street were also angry. Anne Mulhern, who owns the famous Willow Tearoom, said: “It was totally negative in its portrayal of Sauchiehall Street.

“We’d been looking forward to a boost with the Commonwealth Games but now we’re worried some people might not come because of this.

“The street has had a number of problems but businesses had been feeling better about things. I won’t be watching another episode.”

The production company refused to comment, but a spokesman for the BBC said: “The core of the series is around the stories of working people in shops and bars and the street pastors who help the revellers and homeless at night.

“It’s a portrait of a modern street and a theme in the series is of people attempting to improve their prospects.”

Glasgow City Council said it was keen to see the remaining episodes before passing judgement. A council spokesman said: “We feel it would be sensible to view the series in its entirety before coming to any conclusion.”

The first episode charted the ups and downs of four people on Sauchiehall Street busker Melo, restaurateur Nick, bar manager Lee and shopping centre manager Jim.

Since the show was made all have seen major upheavals in their lives.

We tried to find out where they are, almost two years since taking part in filming.

MELO: The Angolan is believed to be living in England. He was filmed being subjected to a racist attack. Police are looking for him over claims he used threatening or abusive behaviour towards two Edinburgh City Council environmental wardens in 2012.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

LEE: Still manager of Barbushka. The bar has since moved to smaller premises. Lee says he’s been subjected to online abuse since the programme aired.

He said: “Some people saw the fact that we moved as a negative but that was always our plan. I’ve been getting a lot of disrespectful comments on Twitter so one of the producers is popping in to chat to me about it. Some of my friends and family think the comments are a bit much.”

NICK: The foul-mouthed chef’s eatery, Taste, has shut for good. He has opened another city centre bar, Jacker de Viande, nearby. We contacted the bar seeking a comment from him but did not receive a response.

JIM: Whereabouts unknown, but not believed to be with the Savoy anymore. The long-running shopping centre was threatened with closure last month but clings on. It has reverted to its traditional opening days of Monday to Saturday a major issue in the show.