Life is Toff is back on TV tonight for episode two: Bear Up.
In tonight's programme Edmund gains experience by running an activity day for local teens at the estate.
The series follows the eccentric and aristocratic Fulford family at home on their 800-year-old Devon country estate, as the children grapple with coming-of-age.Watch clips from episode two below and read our exclusive interview with The Fulford family after the videos
Reality television has been to Essex, it's been to Chelsea, and even to the jungle, and now it's the turn of Devon. Chaotic and loveable aristocrats the Fulfords are bracing themselves for the public's reaction as new reality TV series Life is Toff begins tonight on BBC3 at 10pm. Anita Merritt visited the 3,000-acre Great Fulford estate near Exeter to meet the family who last shocked the nation in their TV debut The F***ing Fulfords
The 'F' in Fulfords now stands for a very different word than it did 10 years ago when the family last agreed to have their lives turned into a television documentary.
Instead of foul-mouthed obscenities, the word I keep hearing being repeated is 'fun', as opposed to the turn of phrase which coined the title of their TV debut, The F***ing Fulfords, in 2004.
It made for jaw-dropping television when viewers were introduced to the aristocratic family of Francis Fulford, his wife Kishanda, and their four squabbling children, who live in a Grade I listed manor hidden away off the beaten track somewhere between Cheriton Bishop and Dunsford, near Exeter.
The show exposed the family as rude, crude, and almost broke. Comparisons were instantly made with the Osbournes… but in tweeds. The unlikely star of the show was Francis, 24th in the line of his family to have inherited the now crumbling 800-year-old home set on a 3,000-acre estate.
Nothing can prepare you for seeing the vast 50-room property in real life. When the faded facade of Great Fulford greets you, what was once an exquisite stately manor now looks like the house that time forgot.
The miserable weather does little to cast any warmth over the semi-fortified mansion built around a courtyard.
The sad spell is broken as I bang on the door and receive a warm greeting from 21-year-old daughter Matilda. She pulls back a heavy wooden door, and leads me into the panelled Great Hall where various animal heads have been mounted on the walls.
The family are in mid-shoot with our photographer, so Matilda takes me to the hub of the house – the kitchen – to wait with some BBC workers while they finish off.
The path to the kitchen table takes a bit of negotiating because one of the family's two beloved, old, black Labradors has left a little present on the floor.
The first Fulford to walk back into the kitchen is Matilda, twin of Arthur – next in line to inherit Great Fulford.
The other siblings are 20-year-old Humphrey, the only one missing when I visit, who is in the Territorial Army in London and is planning to join the regular Army next year, and the 'baby' of the family, 18-year-old Edmund, who has finished his schooling and is briefly back at home before relocating to Kenya to try his hand at trading commodities such as tea.
Matilda is leaving for Barcelona on November 5 to teach English to fund her attempts to break into the art world.
It isn't long before we're joined by Arthur and Edmund, and the volume noticeably increases. In the BBC3 series Life is Toff, filmed this summer, the siblings are shown struggling with the same problems, insecurities, and rites of passage all young adults face, but with the 800 years of history and tradition bearing down on them.
But it's all smiles today – and impeccable manners I have to add – and the consensus is filming the series was fun for them all.
Matilda says: "I've not lived at home for three years because I was at university. That's what was really nice about filming; it gave us an opportunity to hang out as a family."
Agreeing to do the six-part series was a decision the family didn't take lightly, especially as not everyone was happy with the way they were portrayed in The F***ing Fulfords, which they did to generate money to plough back into the house.
"It was a big decision for all of us," admits Matilda. "There were lots of discussions. I never wanted to do it, but when you get offered a pay cheque, and you know what's at stake for Great Fulford, it's tempting."
Just how how big a sum they earned for the series is not revealed. All Francis will say is: "It's quite large."
Although Matilda goes on to say it was a unanimous decision to do the series, a key member of the family is missing – mum Kishanda.
Matilda clarifies: "She was really against it so she opted out. She hated the whole experience last time, and the attention we received. It just didn't suit her. She decided to take time out to write her book and do sculpting."
Luckily Great Fulford is somewhere she could do just that, with 50 rooms to choose from, although Francis jokes she is always saying she can't find a room of her own.
He says: "People always ask how many rooms we've got, but it's not relevant.
"It's the cost of keeping the house running that's the issue. The first thing is average annual payments such as heat and light."
At this point Edmund immediately perks up to point out: "We don't get heat in this house! It only comes on twice a year – at Christmas and on mum's birthday."
With typical wit, Francis replies: "That's why you're so healthy. There's nothing nicer than waking up with an icicle under your nose."
Despite having a house with so many rooms, only a few are ever used – the kitchen, library, bathroom, and occupied bedrooms.
Francis says: "The other cost is maintenance. You can turn out lights and not put on the heating, but there are some costs you can't escape. Apart from home insurance, which is probably £10,000, there's a constant cycle of work that needs to be carried out after so many years, such replacing the windows and roof, and repainting.
"If I was being truthful, one should be spending £25,000 to £50,000 a year on a rolling programme of maintenance. But when times are tough you just make do. All that matters is keeping the water out and making sure the house doesn't burn down through faulty electrics, or whatever it is that makes a house burn down."
Neither Francis nor I fail to notice Matilda sitting at the kitchen table, striking matches then extinguishing them in an ashtray.
The most visibly noticeable work is the ballroom restoration. It looks almost out of place compared with the shabbier rooms, including the grand 17th century staircase with a rolled-up carpet strewn haphazardly at the bottom, next to a ping pong table. Once luxurious wallpaper is now peeling from the walls.
The task of maintaining the house for future generations will rest on the shoulders of heir Arthur, who already walks around with the air of lord of the manor.
Younger brother Edmund says: "I've been told since I was born I'm getting nothing!"
Arthur doesn't bat an eyelid, adding: "In brutal terms it's just the way life is, just like Prince Harry will never be king. There are pros and cons for everything. I see it as a challenge and an exciting one at that.
"It's a long way down the line and I fully intend to have a good time first rather than worrying about keeping the roof on. I take an interest in what goes on, but it doesn't keep me awake at night."
It seems not a lot worries Arthur, because he's also losing no sleep over watching Life is Toff for the first time, or dwelling on the reaction it will receive.
"I'm looking forward to seeing it," admits Arthur. "It's going to be fun and I don't think it will be too bad. I don't think I will like everything I see, but that's life really.
"Not many people get to see their life played back to them. It could end up being quite retrospective."
Matilda adds: "I don't think it will change our lives. It's not the kind of programme which brings that fame and I'm glad about that.
"None of us crave to be famous, unlike a lot of people. Being famous for being a reality TV star earns you no respect whatsoever.
"It's hard for us to expose ourselves and put ourselves on a platform to be judged."
Perhaps the one who should be most worried – but isn't in the slightest – is Francis, portrayed in The F***ing Fulfords as an upper-class buffoon full of hare-brained ideas to raise cash to repair his stately pile.
"I believe if you play yourself and don't pretend to be someone else, people respect that," says Francis. "When the idea for the new series was first raised I said, 'We don't lead that an exciting life you know. It's quite dull. If you want to squeeze six half-hour episodes out of it you might struggle.'
"It's actually been a joy. The real bonus is all being together for the summer holidays. That will probably never happen again. We made the most of it and had a lot of fun."
Looking at his children for reassurance, Francis asks: "We have lots of fun, don't we?"
The first to reply is Arthur, saying: "Yes, we do – consistently, not constantly." Then Edmund cheekily chips in: "It's all right."
Apart from a couple of ideas the family were given to do by the TV producers, such as to hold a car boot sale – only one person turned up and a food seller had to get towed out of a ditch – the filming is of everyday life.
Francis says: "What people don't think about is we had two cameras filming us seven hours a day. That's 14 hours of film. Of that only four minutes may end up on screen. But that's fine, it's part of the deal.
"TV caricatures you. If you've got a big nose it makes it look even bigger; it doesn't lie. All I hope is it's not cruel like Spitting Image."
What is promised is the show will be full of comedy moments, often produced during sibling fighting. Just don't hold your breath for any big make-up scenes.
Matilda says: "It's all nicey-nice to begin with. We get on really well for an hour, but as there's so many of us, and so many big personalities, there's no way it will be smooth ride for more than 24 hours. There will be a huge explosion of clashing personalities, but no one really holds grudges in this family. You can say the worst things and then don't have to apologise."
I risk another explosion by asking them to describe each other.
Matilda says: "Eddie (Edmund) can be quite charming and really funny. It's also unbelievably easy to make him do things."
Turning to Edmund, she says, "Can you get the kettle?" which he does without a moment's hesitation, oblivious at first of the prime example she has just made.
He might be a domestic pushover, but there's no holding back when he describes Arthur. Edmund says: "I learnt not what to do from Arthur and Matilda's mistakes." He might be referring to when Arthur 'left' Sherborne College because of bad behaviour. Edmund continues: "Arthur grew up the quickest out of us all. He is quite intelligent and quick-witted.
"Tils (Matilda) is the one who is most in touch with the outside world, and has probably had the best influence out of everybody on my life. She keeps me in line."
In all of them I can see polite, eccentric, and very likeable characteristics, which they seem to have inhertied from their father, who admits life won't be half as much fun when they all fly the nest again.
To safeguard their future, his priority remains preserving the family home.
Income is generated from weddings, film location shoots, festivals, private parties and, of course, television shows.
Then, of course, there's money generated through work. Francis' blog describes himself as a writer, broadcaster, and TV personality, and his wife is also a writer.
After The F***ing Fulfords, Francis was involved in numerous other shows, from Why England's F****d, to How Clean is Your House? (not very, as it turned out), which all helped pay for much of the recent work.
So if more reality TV beckoned, such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, or Celebrity Big Brother, would Francis be tempted?
"Never say never," he admits. "I would have to find out how much money is involved. I would need a lot of money to do it!"
Reflecting on the struggle to maintain the difficult balance between making money and keeping their house a home, Francis adds: "You have to be very careful because you don't want to drive yourself out of your own house. The most important thing is this is a home for my family."
Pausing to give one of his dogs the last bite of his biscuit, Francis concludes: "It's an adventure and, like all adventures, you don't know how it will all end."
