A VISCOUNTESS is asking for the support of the public to help fund her new YouTube series on British country houses and estates.

Julia Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke of Mapperton House, has launched a new series entitled 'American Viscountess'.

Born in the USA, Mrs Montagu became Viscountess Hinchingbrooke when she married Luke Montagu, heir to the Earl of Sandwich whose family home is Mapperton, near Beaminster.

She presented the first season of ‘An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates’ for the Smithsonian Channel in which she visited some of the UK’s finest castles, manor houses and stately homes

Working with her husband Luke, and Victoria Page - who produced and directed the first series - she set up a production company to develop a new show called ‘American Viscountess’.

The new programme will be aired on YouTube, with fans being able to support the production costs via the Patreon crowdfunding platform. Patreon members can gain early access to the shows, join live Q&As with Julie and benefit from lots of behind-the-scenes content.

Mrs Montagu said: "I know many fans were deeply disappointed when American Aristocrat was cancelled, but we are back.

"The new show is a glorious, intimate, high-spirited celebration of British country houses and estates. I’ve been very lucky to get to know the owners of many of these places, and I’m delighted to be able to introduce them - and their wonderful homes - to an even larger audience via YouTube."

The first episodes of the series will see Mrs Montagu visiting her good friends William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett at Iford Manor in Bradford-on-Avon.

The series launched on Patreon this week and will go live on YouTube on Sunday, September 26. A new episode will be released weekly from that point.