Brexit-voting stand-up Geoff Norcott goes back to his working-class roots for a new BBC Two documentary. He explores a very peculiar kind of class war in How The Middle Classes Ruined Britain.
In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, Geoff observes how the working class have become visible for the first time in generations, and to some extent feared by the significant, largely law-abiding, yet most derided “avocado eating and Waitrose shopping” sector of society.
The self-proclaimed right-wing comedian, who grew up in a single-parent family on a council estate in south London, reveals the ways in which he thinks the middle class have had their way for too long. His exploration of the inner workings of Britain’s class divide starts with his exposure of the hypocrisy of middle class parents using ethically dubious means to get their “little darlings” into the best state schools.
His journey into the secret world of middle class privilege takes him from the booming gentrification of inner-city Manchester to the upmarket areas of London, where he uncovers the growing phenomena of “assortative mating” - marrying someone of similar background and bank balance. There he meets the meets the founder of a new dating app, designed exclusively for the crème of the privately educated middle class, demonstrating just another way people like him are being kept “at arm’s length”.
How The Middle Classes Ruined Britain will be broadcast on BBC Two in July
Picture: Karla Gowlett
