Prince Andrew is 'fully behind' ex wife Sarah Ferguson's bid to become TV star following her This Morning appearance - as duke faces spiralling house repair bills

Prince Andrew has backed a bid by his ex-wife the Duchess of York to become a reality TV star amid his reported stalling on proving he can afford huge repair bills on his Windsor home.

The outcast Duke of York is said to be 'fully behind' Sarah Ferguson's attempts to land a lucrative on-screen role after her appearance as a co-presenter on ITV's This Morning this week.

A source told the Mirror that Andrew was 'the catalyst' for her accepting her role alongside presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary. 

Another source told the newspaper that the Duke has been stalling over a deal with the Crown Estate to prove he has the money to meet a £2million repair bill on Royal Lodge in Windsor, where he has lived since 2004.  

Andrew's finances have been under renewed focus ever since he was forced to step back from a public royal life after the £12million settlement with his former sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre. 

The disgraced royal has reportedly 'not been forthcoming' with financial details despite allegedly being given permission by his brother King Charles to stay indefinitely at the home.

The Duchess of York guest edited and co-presented This Morning on Monday. 

During the love and relationships segment, the Duchess, 64, acted as an agony aunt, offering advice to two couples struggling with intimacy issues in their marriages.

This included her thoughts on how they could re-ignite their sex lives.

Although some on social media said parts of her performance were 'chaotic', show bosses were said to have been delighted. 

She also interviewed music legend Sir Cliff Richard alongside Hammond and O'Leary.

A source close to her and Andrew said: 'Andrew think's it's all great fun and is fully behind Sarah. She had fun and people like her. Andrew thinks she's a natural.' 

The Duchess is also hoping to land a TV role in America. US producer Amy Rosenbaum said last month that she met the royal in New York to discuss potential projects.

It had previously been suggested that Andrew would be forced to leave his home.  

He is said to have reached a 'stalemate' with the Crown Estate - which runs the royal residences - over the repair bill. 

The Duke was already said to have paid out £200,000 for roof repairs on Royal Lodge over the summer. But a lot of further work is needed. 

It is believed Andrew was given a £250,000 a year allowance by the late Queen, but this was then cut by Charles.