"Liverpool-based "scripted reality" shows Desperate Scousewives will only fuel "regional racism" against the city, claims a local MP and former mayor.
Hundreds of members of the public are currently fighting for a place on the programmes designed to tread a thin line between soap opera and documentary.
But the local Labour MP Steve Rotheram argued the "dramality" TV programmes will only reinforce the negative stereotypes cast on Liverpool life."
Newman says that when the working class are focused on they are labelled as a problem.
Scousers are often labelled in a negative way because of their on going negative stereotype.
When Desperate Scousewives debuted E4 described it as "Meet the strong, independent women who quite literally run this town, looking to make a name for themselves"