Meghan Markle could use her new role presenting MasterChef in Australia as a springboard to appear on UK shows, TV insiders said.
The Duchess of Sussex confirmed she will be a co-host of Junior MasterChef Australia, the children’s version of the popular televised cooking competition, in 2027.
There are several reasons why Meghan chose the Australian series for her hotly anticipated screen comeback, industry experts said.
The Meghan ratings boost
It follows Meghan’s debut appearance on the adult version of MasterChef Australia in July this year, which was filmed during a four-day visit to Australia with Prince Harry in April.
During the episode, Prince Harry called Meghan, with producers handing her the phone. She greeted him by saying “Hi, my love”, and afterwards called him “a charmer”.
Australian Network 10 said the Duchess’s appearance on the show drew its “largest Sunday audience since 2023”.
She will now present the junior series, featuring children aged nine to 13. She will join current MasterChef Australia judge Poh Ling Yeow, who said it “will be a real treat” to reunite with Meghan.
The Duchess said: “I had an incredible time with the whole team at MasterChef this past April, so when they approached me to come back and work with this young group of talent, it was an easy yes.”
The series will be filmed at Melbourne Showgrounds and is likely to require several weeks in Australia. It is not yet clear whether Prince Harry and their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, will accompany the Duchess.
Hosting children’s show will ‘soften image’
Steven D Wright, a producer of entertainment shows for BBC and Channel 4, said it was a “good idea” for her to present the children’s version of Masterchef as it would “help” boost her public image.
The Duchess appears to be pivoting towards presenting lifestyle and cookery shows, following her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
If the Australian show goes well, Markle could be in demand for more presenting work, Wright added.
He suggested a show like Strictly Come Dancing would suit Meghan, if the BBC show shakes up its presenting line-up once again.
‘Soft launch’ for UK show appearance?
Given the close ties between the different MasterChef productions, the Australian edition could lead to Meghan appearing as a guest judge on a UK MasterChef episode, or as a contestant on a celebrity edition for a charity like Comic Relief, an entertainment insider suggested.
MasterChef, the world’s most successful TV cookery format, is a global brand owned by Banijay Entertainment.
“Presenting Australian MasterChef looks like an experiment for Meghan – a soft launch which could lead to appearances on the UK show,” Wright added.
However, there are no presenter vacancies on the UK MasterChef following a forced shake-up after the departures of Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
Food critic Grace Dent and Iris Chef Anna Haugh joined the series last year.
Banijay UK also said there were no plans for the Duchess to appear on MasterChef in the UK.
The BBC has also not commissioned a UK Junior MasterChef series since 2014.
Less scrutiny for TV return in Australia
Choosing Australia to relaunch her screen career was a strategic choice by the Duchess, said one show-business insider.
“Meghan isn’t in the goldfish bowl she would be making a show here. It’s much more laidback in Australia and she will face much less scrutiny,” the person said.
The Duchess of Sussex said she was excited to see what the ‘Junior MasterChef’ contestants create (Photo: PA)The shooting location may have other attractions, too.
“Would you rather spend a month in Melbourne or Digbeth?” asked the person, referring to the new purpose-built MasterChef studios in Birmingham.
Trademarked lifestyle brand in Oz
Meghan also has wider business ties in Australia. She began building these before her spring visit with Harry.
Last year, her As Ever lifestyle brand trademark was registered in more than a dozen product categories in Australia, including cookware and table linen.
Global audience for Australian MasterChef
Banijay Rights, which distributes the MasterChef series around the world, is aware that there will be huge global interest in the Meghan-fronted Australian series.
It is expected to deliver a ratings boost to the U&W digital channel which screens MasterChef Australia in the UK and Channel 4’s on-demand service, which has streaming rights.
In a statement confirming the Australian role, the Duchess said: “I love cooking with my own kids, so seeing what these young stars create in the kitchen is going to be a lot of fun.”
News of Meghan’s next television appearance arrived in the same week the Duchess revealed she had been made aware that her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr, had been accused of possessing child sexual abuse images.
The Duchess of Sussex was contacted for comment.
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