Poverty Safari author Loki offers to 'chat' to Michelle Mone who lambasts 'false gossip' over daughter’s reality TV stint

But without a single minute being aired, some have already dismissed the project as a "poverty safari".

READ MORE: Will we end up apologising to Michelle Mone?

And while the former lingerie entrepreneur has leapt to the defence of her 19-year-old daughter Bethany who is taking part, Darren McGarvey, the author and community activist, also known as Loki, who recently won the Orwell Prize for his book Poverty Safari has offered to have a chat with them to discuss the issues.

Bethany is to head to Glasgow’s East End - where her mother grew up - to take part in the new four part reality show that sees the offspring of celebrities spend a week in deprived communities “to live the life they would have lived had their parents not found fame”.

The Conservative peer, 46, posted on social media a picture of herself and her daughter outside a tower block and wrote: “Very proud of my wee Bethany.”

But her pride turned to anger as some questioned the motives of the show, which has not even got a date for airing.

READ MORE: Working classes are not homework for heiresses

The MP for Glasgow Central Alison Thewliss described the programme as “poverty safari” in a response to a post on Twitter.

Ms Thewliss tweeted: “Utterly despicable exploitation of a kind, close-knit community. No area deserves “poverty safari” treatment, but particularly cruel of @MichelleMone to use East End roots to pick on Bridgeton, which has seen change led by local people, supported @clydegateway. @bridgeton_cc.”

SNP MP Alison Thewliss, whose Glasgow Central constituency covers Bridgeton, said the idea behind the programme was "utterly despicable exploitation" of a close-knit community.

She tweeted: "No area deserves 'poverty safari' treatment, but particularly cruel of @MichelleMone to use East End roots to pick on Bridgeton, which has seen change led by local people."

Glasgow comedian Janey Godley said Lady Mone was a Tory who "voted against giving the poorest people decent living benefits and now wants to do a 'Bridgeton Kardashian' to give her daughter some air time."

But Lady Mone, who grew up in Dennistoun, hit back, and talked of "false gossip".

READ MORE: Have we learned nothing about poverty porn TV?

She said: "I have to address some of the horrendous comments going around on social media [with reference to] the new Channel 4 show I am partaking in.

"My daughter Bethany has had an invaluable & overwhelmingly positive experience filming recently.

"It's so disappointing that people have made a snap judgement on what the series is about and I hope they will reserve further judgement for when they are able to view it.

"After people watch it a lot of people will owe us a big apology."

She said she had "so much respect for my background, home and the people of Glasgow especially the East End which you'll be able to see very soon".

She concluded by saying: "Another SNP moron opening their mouth again without knowing the facts and trying to cause trouble." She then blocked Alison Thewliss's tweets.

But Darren McGarvey, the author and community activist, also known as Loki, who recently won the Orwell Prize for his book Poverty Safari said that if they " want to 'confront their feelings of privilege', I'd be happy to have a chat with them. I know they might mean well, but class experiences can be so divergent that good intentions may appear extremely vulgar and patronising"

He said that while he had not seen the show he felt he had seen similar shows that "exploited" the class divide in the UK.

He said he was concerned that Channel 4 had decided "to send in a couple of gold-plated wrecking balls to get to the bottom of the corrosive class disparity that is tearing our country apart".

READ MORE: Where's the media's working classes?

"I personally don't have anything against Michelle Mone or her family," he said.

"If they have roots there, it is not for me to say how they explore that and while I think the programme is distasteful and immutably crass, at the same time, I am sure that something entertaining can be contrived from it, using soundtrack, editing and making local people look stupid."

Channel 4 commissioning editor Emily Jones said Born Famous was about addressing the opportunities that exist for working class children.

Speaking about the show, she said: “There is a myth that talent will out whatever the circumstances. Using extraordinary access to some of our most successful celebrities, Born Famous is a novel way to explore the degree to which we’re all in denial about how hard it is to be young today.”

Jack Ramsay, son of TV chef Gordon Ramsay, will also appear on Born Famous, as well as Phoenix Chi, daughter of Spice Girl and America’s Got Talent judge Mel B.