TUC leader Frances O’Grady threw her weight yesterday behind calls for Channel 4 TV to cancel the controversial Immigration Street documentary which is due to be broadcast tomorrow.

Residents of Southampton, where the controversial programme was filmed, descended on the channel’s London headquarters for the second time in a month yesterday.

The latest protest was organised by Southampton Communities Alliance, which fears the programme will represent the city’s Bevois area negatively, stigmatising residents.

Members of London’s Romanian community joined the demonstration, saying that the programme would fuel racist attitudes against them.

Residents of Southampton’s Derby Road — where shooting took place — filmed for the programme have so far been denied sight of footage by Channel 4.

The show was made by the Love Productions, the same company that made the Benefits Street series, which depicted people who receive welfare support as feckless lazy scroungers.

The production, intended to be a six-part series, has been reduced to one programme because of the opposition to filming by Derby Road residents, supported by anti-racism campaigners, concerned that they would be portrayed in a similarly negative light.

Now they have won support from Ms O’Grady, who called on the channel to drop the irresponsible programme completely.

“Channel 4 needs to respect the views of the Southampton community and cancel Immigration Street,” she said.

“The show looks set to encourage social division and hostility towards migrants and the black, minority and ethnic community. Instead of such irresponsible broadcasting, the media should expose how communities are suffering from the shocking impact of low wages, lousy contracts and cuts to services.”