Former Tory minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said his new reality show is unlikely to “change many people’s minds” about him.
Fly-on-the-wall docu-series Meet The Rees-Moggs, airing next month, takes viewers inside his family’s 17th-century Somerset house and documents Sir Jacob’s life in the run-up to the general election, when he lost the constituency of North East Somerset to Labour.
At a screening for the five-part series, he told the PA news agency: “It (the show) came to me out of the blue.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg arriving for a screening of new Discovery+ reality series Meet The Rees-Moggs (Ian West/PA)
“I got an email saying, ‘Will I be interested in doing this?’ And to be honest, I thought it was a spoof when I first got it.
“I thought ‘Who on earth would want to make a programme about the Rees-Mogg family?’
“And then my agent made inquiries, and we initially were talking about it being more political, because it was sometime before the election and so on, and then the election came, it evolved.”
The GB News presenter, 55, has faced backlash for his views and was chased by a shouting crowd of demonstrators at Cardiff University earlier in the year.
Asked whether he thinks opinions could change thanks to the programme, the Brexit-backing former MP said: “I don’t think I’ll change many people’s minds.
Helena Rees-Mogg (Ian West/PA)
“I think it is interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes with politicians, that if you’re a public figure you need to lead your life quite publicly. And I think it’s fair to let people see what’s going on.
“But I’d be astonished if arch Remainers suddenly think, ‘Oh my goodness, Brexit was a wonderful idea after all.’”
Sir Jacob added that he was “delighted” Kemi Badenoch had won the Tory leadership race, despite backing Robert Jenrick.
“I think there’s a very strong future for the Tory party,” he added.
Sir Jacob attended the premiere with his wife Helena – the pair share six children together.
Meet The Rees-Moggs streams from December 2 on Discovery+.