After Theater Division collapsed in the summer of 1991, Edward had to do something. His civil list allowance had recently been raised to 100,000 pounds a year, and he was under a lot of pressure to do better both privately and publically. He had nowhere to go but up.
Within six months, he had formed Ardent Productions, a television company. He was managing director. And it's a good thing he got it up and running, because at the same time, his civil list allowance was cut. But that doesn't mean he was running out of money. He was the major shareholder in Ardent, having put over 200,000 pounds of his own money into it to get it running. He also has the backing of the Sultan of Brunei, the richest man in the world.
At first, Edward had said he would not make any royal programs, because that's not the impression he wanted to make. However, when Ardent lost almost half a million pounds in it's first year, he knew he had to do something. He did a documentary on real tennis, a game he loves. Ironically, the game would have something to do with his meeting Sophie a couple of years later. Just thought you'd like a forerunner to what's coming...
Ardent's first venture into drama was the soap Annie's Bar, but it failed to gather much enthusiasm from the public. Edward's documentary, Edward on Edward, in which he was the presenter, did much better. Although not a huge success in the UK, in the United States it got him a deal with CBS to do eight more "Edward on..." shows, a deal that will be worth about 2 million pounds. This is going to set Ardent on a successful path, and wipe out their three-year loss at the same time. The fine print of the deal is Edward has to be the presenter. Which, of course, is no big deal. Why? Because presenting is just another form of acting.
And we all know the man loves to act.
Hey guys, check this out! Edward's hot new series is called Crown and Country and right there is an interview Edward did about the series before it began!