Ascot: posh pastime or plain naff?

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Poshcast with Cleo Watson and Sophia Money-Coutts, your favourite group-chat in podcast form.

Join Sophia and Cleo as they delve into the murky world of modern social norms, class anxiety and all matters that generate furious online opinions.

This week we are donning our hats (never fascinators) to talk Ascot - how to say it, the dress-code minefield from jumpsuits to compulsory socks, and why the whole thing can feel like a pricey, performative logistical nightmare unless you’ve arrived by helicopter.

Plus we’ll wade into picnic politics (Scotch eggs, leaking deli tubs and Fortnum hampers), discuss the apparently atrocious standard of Father's Day cards these days, and ask listeners to christen The Poshcast mouse-mascot with a suitably befitting title.

You can watch The Poshcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CyEqqzeY6BM

Send your questions to theposhcast@telegraph.co.uk.

Ban ‘picky bits’ and pre-mixed cans: My rules for the ultimate picnic, Sophia Money-Coutts: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/13/my-rules-for-the-ultimate-picnic/

BBC Archive 1983: What’s your perfect picnic?: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZEwjeKgAgI/?igsh=aDB1OWtkaG9tMHQ3

Video Producer: James England

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Highlights:

• Is Ascot now a little bit naff?
• Who is buying these crude Father's Day cards?

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to The Poshcast

05:42 Bath Weekend Confessions

08:47 Picnics and Picky Bits

11:03 Picnic Practicalities

15:03 Prince George School Scoop

16:27 Ascot Hats and Pronunciation

18:48 Should You Even Go

20:32 Car Park Picnic Culture

23:48 Flat vs Jump Racing

25:05 Dress Codes Explained

30:29 Listener Fathers Day Dilemma

38:08 Taxidermy Mouse Mascot

39:22 See you Next Week

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