Forsaking hard-hitting adult-oriented interviews such as those conducted by David Frost, Prince Charles recently decided to sit down for a chat with cheeky TV presenters Ant and Dec, inviting the Slap Bang duo to his Highgrove home to discuss his charity the Prince’s Trust.
“I suppose Ant and Dec are rather a surprising choice, but it came from a desire to reach those people who might not watch David Frost,” says the Trust’s chief executive, Tom Shebbeare. And it seems Charles has new friends in the presenting pair Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. “They got on like a house on fire,” reports Tom.
“It was great to see how the Prince can identify with people of that age group and get on very well with them,” Tom told UK tabloid The Mirror. “Our target group might never have heard about the Prince’s Trust, but they might listen to Ant and Dec and realise then what the Trust could do for them.”
As the Prince’s Trust celebrates its 25th anniversary, Charles sees the organisation going from strength to strength in its work with disadvantaged youth.
“What we try to do is to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy and really get to where people really need the most help as quickly as possible without too much to-ing, fro-ing and arguing,” said the Prince. “It is only too apparent that the problems I was seeing back in the 1970s are still there. We still have a huge amount to do.”
A part of the Ant and Dec interview will run on Saturday on SM:TV, and it will be aired in its entirety on Sunday during ITV’s three-hour Party In The Park special. The star-studded London concert is expected to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the Trust.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
