Dissident republicans in Derry orchestrated the riot that claimed the life of a journalist partly to impress an MTV film crew fronted by the broadcaster Reggie Yates, it has been claimed.

Yates and his crew were filming a documentary in the Creggan area of Derry last Thursday when republicans started throwing petrol bombs and shooting at police.

A bullet killed Lyra McKee, 29, a journalist and author who was standing with other civilians beside a police Land Rover.

One community organiser, who asked not to be named, claimed to the Guardian that members of the New IRA and its political wing Saoradh were playing to the cameras. “They staged the whole thing for him. It was all staged, all choreographed.”

Police said on Sunday night that two men aged 18 and 19 arrested over the journalist’s murder have been released without charge.

Yates, 35, a former Top of the Pops presenter, was filming for an eight-part series, Reggie Yates vs The World, for MTV UK. Described as an immersion into extreme and unusual situations with topical relevance for young people, it is due to be broadcast later this year.

Police statements have several times called the violence “orchestrated”. But PSNI Det Supt Jason Murphy, who is leading the investigation, said he did not think media presence affected events.

An MTV spokesperson pointed to the PSNI’s statement and said there was “no evidence of any sort to show that the presence of the media on the ground contributed or impacted the situation on the Creggan estate”.

However, MTV is cooperating with a police request to review all footage of the riot, according to the Sunday Times, which first reported the claim that dissidents ratcheted up tensions to create on-screen drama. “There is a strong belief that they were being stoked by dissidents for the benefit of the film crew,” the paper quoted one community worker as saying.

Residents in Creggan interviewed by the Guardian over the weekend repeated the claim, calling it an open secret. Others repeated it on social media, but were unable to supply evidence.

Trouble flared at around 9pm, when police entered Creggan to search for guns and explosives to avert possible terror attacks over the Easter weekend, when republicans commemorate the Easter 1916 Rising.

Youths responded by throwing dozens of petrol bombs as well as bottles and other missiles. Two vehicles were set ablaze. Security cameras and mobile phone footage captured a masked gunman opening fire in the direction of police vehicles where McKee and others were standing.

Her death prompted a wave of tributes to her talent and condemnations of her murder.

Leaders of Saoradh, a republican socialist party that reflects New IRA views, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MTV’s statement continued: “The crowds had already assembled following a police search in the area and upon hearing about the search, a production company filming a documentary for MTV made their way to the area, as did multiple other news crews who were also present on the scene. MTV is not a line of enquiry in police investigations.”

Yates, who started as a child actor and appeared in Doctor Who, has in recent years made hard-hitting documentaries about teen gangs, homosexuality in Russia and religion in South Africa for the BBC and other outlets.

The MTV series, produced by Flicker Productions, went to Derry to investigate political tension in the wake of Brexit and Northern Ireland’s political impasse. The crew checked out of their hotel on Friday, several days earlier than planned, according to hotel staff, and returned to London.

The New IRA and Saoradh have broken away from Sinn Féin and mainstream republicanism to oppose the peace process. They have small pockets of support in Creggan and other socially deprived areas of Derry.

The New IRA has been linked to the murder of two prison officers. In January, it detonated a car bomb outside Derry’s courthouse and last month sent letters with explosives to targets in Britain, incidents that caused no injuries but garnered widespread media attention.