Meet the Rees-Moggs

When I first received an email proposing a programme about me and my family life, I assumed it must be a spoof. The initial suggestion was for a series for Netflix, and I could not understand why my life would be of interest. As I was still an MP at the time, I also thought it could be one of those traps where MPs are secretly recorded and appear vain, greedy and entitled.

However, I mentioned it to my children, who all thought it sounded exciting, so I asked my agent to investigate.

Late in 2023, when this was happening, I still thought there was a chance that the Conservatives could improve our position in the polls, so had not yet concluded that I was bound to lose my seat.

Hence, any programme, at least in my own mind, would be primarily political. I had done a fly-on-the-wall show for Channel 5 some years before, about constituency surgeries. It followed three MPs, Naz Shah, Nick Clegg and me, in our constituencies, dealing with the extraordinary and fascinating range of problems that come to parliamentarians.

My expectation was a broader version of this, with visits to businesses and events in North East Somerset, and some idea of the work in Westminster, although I knew no filming could take place in the Houses of Parliament.

This was still my expectation when we filmed a trailer in March. By this time, Netflix had disappeared from view, and Discovery was in the picture, literally and metaphorically, along with a domestic broadcaster which I worried, perhaps unfairly, would have more of an axe to grind.

I could see the risks clearly. Reality television has had a mixed effect for politicians. Nigel Farage came out of his visit to the jungle very well, it served as a launchpad for Reform’s success at the last election; but it did little for Matt Hancock, while George Galloway's entry into the Big Brother household was not entirely to his advantage.

Inevitably, the family discussed the pros and cons, but ultimately it would depend on the editing. We did not have editorial control, but I was reassured that it was not setting out to be a hatchet job.

I was not unduly worried about the exposure for the children, because it seemed to be little different from the existing situation. My children have had to put up with comments in relation to my public profile since they were tiny; this is what happens if one of your parents is involved in public life and you have an unusual surname.

I did not think it would make it any worse, or indeed better. While in all families the rough and the smooth need to be accepted, there are, indeed, benefits from being in the public eye.

After the trailer had been filmed, Discovery decided that it did want to go ahead, so a contract had to be agreed. By late May, this was in the process of going back and forth, in a fairly leisurely fashion, as we talked about various points. For example, I did not want to agree to an option for a second series without seeing the first.

Then, Rishi Sunak stood in the rain and washed away his own administration.