Prescott: The Class System and Me

John Prescott has been obsessed with class his whole life. After 40 years in Westminster, John and Pauline Prescott embark on a journey through the British class system to see if class still exists, whether it's still relevant and, if so, what does class look like in Britain today?In this thought-provoking two-part series, John meets people at the top, middle and bottom of the ladder and tries to work out where he fits into this brave new world of class. He meets the chattering classes at Hay on Wye and rubs shoulders with the upwardly mobile at Henley Regatta. From lords and ladies to chavs and pikeys, John realises things aren't quite what they once were.From working class ship steward to deputy prime minister, John's experience of social mobility has been an extraordinary one. His own rise through the class system is illustrated with previously unseen personal archive footage as we get Prezza's eye view of class in the UK today.

John Prescott has been obsessed with class his whole life. After 40 years in Westminster, John and Pauline Prescott embark on a journey through the British class system to see if class still exists, whether it's still relevant and, if so, what does class look like in Britain today?In this episode, John comes face to face with some of the new classes that have shaken things up in British society and is forced to ask if celebrity, the super-rich and the benefits class have changed the landscape of class as he knows it.In this second leg of the journey, John lays out his theory that class will always exist because of the British education system. He visits a sink estate comprehensive in special measures and Rugby, the exclusive public school. On a personal note, we hear how his time at Ruskin College was pivotal in turning his own life around, from a silver service waiter in the merchant navy to becoming an MP and eventually the deputy prime minister.John finds out it is not quite as simple as upper, middle and working class any more as he meets the new emerging classes. From Middle Englanders to families stuck in the benefits trap, John's eyes are opened to the intricacies of the modern class system. A night out with Jodie Marsh introduces him to the celebrity class and to the paparazzi. And a brush with super-rich Surinder Arora, who has worked his way from rags to riches suggests that class might not matter after all if you're prepared to work hard enough.Finally, John reveals his recently purchased second Jaguar and accepts that, since the government Jag has been taken away, he can now legitimately be called 'two Jags'!