Prince Charles is aiming to reach out to a younger audience by teaming up with Ant & Dec to go behind the scenes of the Prince’s Trust charity for ITV.
Clarence House and Prince’s Trust chief executive Martina Milburn specifically requested that ITV’s presenting duo front the 90-minute documentary, which will be produced by Spun Gold.
Spun Gold managing director Nick Bullen said the two organisations wanted to target young viewers with the yet-to-be-titled film, which will explore the work the charity has done for young people in its 40th anniversary next year.
“The documentary will inject some of Ant & Dec’s trademark humour, but they will be exploring strong subjects head on, while celebrating the success of the Trust,” said Bullen.
He was surprised that the pair, best known for fronting entertainment shows I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent, were available, but added that they “jumped at the chance” of getting into factual programming.
Spun Gold will benefit from a “huge amount of access” after building a relationship with Prince Charles’ personal aide, Kristina Kyriacou.
It is the latest in a long line of royal documentaries the indie has made for ITV, including Prince William’s Passion: New Father, New Hope; All The Queen’s Men; and Alan Meets Prince Charles.
As well as exploring the work the Prince’s Trust is doing now, the Alan Meets Prince Charles: Alan Titchmarsh hosted previous Spun Gold doc documentary will look back at 1976, when the body was set up, and how Britain has changed over the past four decades.
It will touch on several key issues, such as mental health, drug addiction and homelessness “then and now”.
Ant & Dec will travel the country to discover how the Trust is improving the lives of disadvantaged people, stopping off in their home town of Newcastle to reminisce about their humble beginnings.
Filming will begin next month and the doc is being directed and produced by Our Queen director Michael Waldman.
It was commissioned by ITV director of factual Richard Klein and factual commissioning editor Andrew O’Connell, and is due to TX in early 2016.
“Cutting all the footage into a 90-minute film will be the biggest challenge,” said Bullen. “As well as exploring Ant & Dec’s journey, it will also investigate what happens to the Trust if and when the Prince becomes King.”