Grayson Perry embeds himself with the British middle classes in and around Tunbridge Wells. As someone originally from a working class background, but now living in middle-class Islington, Perry is fascinated by social mobility and the rise of a new middle class.
He begins his journey in Kings Hill, a new development of executive housing in Kent. He finds a world of aspirational, brand-led taste, with people keen to demarcate themselves from the working-class tastes they have left behind, but uncertain what new taste signals to send out.
'This is the class that are most aware of the meaning and status of the things that they buy... they're (the) most self-conscious,' says Grayson.
Moving on to the middle class heartland of Tunbridge Wells, Grayson explores the taste obsessions - from organic food and gastropubs to vintage furniture and dinner parties - of the traditional middle classes.
These are the Britons most acutely self-conscious about what their taste decisions say about themselves. But Grayson finds that, for all the differences between the many middle class 'taste tribes' he meets, all of their tastes share an emotional undercurrent - a burning desire to show what good people they are. For the middle classes in particular, taste is a moral issue.
Finally, Grayson invites all of the people he meets in Tunbridge Wells and Kings Hill to an unveiling of the tapestries he has made about their taste.
Watch now on 4oD
On TV
First Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 12 June 2012 | 10PM | Channel 4 |
Last Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 12 June 2012 | 10PM | Channel 4 |
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