'I quite enjoy winding people up': Reality TV series follows Jacob Rees-Mogg's 'posh' life

Want to follow an old-fashioned aristocratic family and their servants as they navigate life in their countryside mansion? Well, you could try Downton Abbey but soon you'll be able to watch 'Meet the Rees-Moggs'.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, formerly known as the minister for the 18th century before losing his seat in Parliament, has allowed cameras "unprecedented access" into his family home for a fly-on-the-wall documentary series.

The programme's producers Discovery said it's a "never-before-seen look into his life at home in the 17th century Somerset house where he lives with his wife and six children".

A Discovery spokesperson said: "Following Rees-Mogg through the run up to the General Election and the aftermath that follows, the series will give viewers insight into the political figure who divides opinion as well as the husband and father at home."

Rees-Mogg became a household name in the UK after entering Boris Johnson's Cabinet, partly for his aristocratic style and also because of his very strong views on issues including abortion and Brexit.

He accepts in the documentary trailer that he's "been involved in some political controversy" and despite his religious beliefs, even admits: “This is probably a sin – I quite enjoy winding people up.”

Rees-Mogg, who was the MP for North East Somerset until this year's election, held several senior Cabinet roles but he is possibly best remembered for slouching on the famous green seats in Parliament - a pose he recreated for the series' press release.

One moment in the documentary shows Rees-Mogg pondering after losing the General Election. “Life goes on. What’s next, should always be the question,” he says.

The answer, as it has been for so many celebrities when it appears their star may be falling, is to star in a reality TV show.

“Animals, children, an election and a film crew. What could possibly go wrong?" Rees-Mogg says. "This everyday story of Somerset folk is fun to film but may be a bit more Fawlty Towers than Downton Abbey.”

It's not the first time he's appeared in a documentary. Rees-Mogg first appeared on screens as a 12-year-old who declared his love for money to a French TV crew in 1982.

"I love money, always have done," he says. "Why? Because you need money and with money, you can make more money."

Rees-Mogg was born into money and married into even more when he tied to knot with aristocrat Lady Helena Anne Beatrix Fitzwilliam de Chair.

And if their daughter enters public life like he did, she may also be reminded of what she said in a documentary decades ago. In the trailer for Meet the Rees-Moggs, his daughter Mary is asked if the family is "posh".

“We have quite posh accents, so if we're being real, we're quite posh, yeah," she tells the documentary with a grin.

Meet The Rees-Moggs will be streaming on Discovery+ from December 2.

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