Duchess of Sussex to join Australian reality television series
The Duchess of Sussex will return to Australia next year to join a reality television series.
Meghan will appear in the new season of Junior MasterChef Australia more than a year after she and Prince Harry visited Sydney and Melbourne in a quasi-royal tour that blended commercial and charity events.
The Duchess of Sussex will return to Australian television next year, after hosting two seasons of her cooking show on Netflix. Jake Rosenberg/Netflix
The duchess’ small screen comeback follows her short-lived Netflix project With Love, Meghan, which lasted for two seasons, plus a Christmas special.
Meghan said it was an “easy yes” when she was asked to join the show, months after appearing as a guest judge on the regular season earlier this year.
“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 duchess said, via a Network 10 spokesperson.
“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. I can’t wait to see what they cook up.”
Network 10 confirmed Meghan’s appointment on Tuesday morning.
“The much-loved series will see Poh Ling Yeow joined by special guest Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as they help guide the next generation of young culinary talent,” a spokesperson said.
“An entrepreneur, actress, humanitarian and passionate home cook, Emmy-nominated Meghan previously joined the MasterChef Australia kitchen as a guest judge in 2026. Now, she returns to work alongside Poh and meet the young contestants as they embark on their own culinary journeys.”
Prince Harry and Meghan, and their children, are now living in the UK after moving from the US. Instagram/@meghan
Nine.com.au has reached out to the Duchess of Sussex’s spokesperson for comment.
Filming is expected to take place in Melbourne early next year.
News of Meghan’s new role comes just days after allegations emerged about her father Thomas Markle, who is being investigated for allegedly possessing child abuse images.
It is not known if Prince Harry, or their two children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, will travel to Australia for the duration of filming.
The Sussexes relocated to Britain in late August for what has been described as an “extended” stay. The children now attend a British school close to the family’s home in the Cotswolds.
Meghan appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef Australia this year, during an episode filmed in April. Instagram/@masterchefau
In August, soon before they moved back to the UK, a source close to Prince Harry and Meghan described them as an “international couple”, pointing to their homes in Montecito, in the US, and Portugal.
The source speculated about the family spending time in other parts of the world after their time in Britain.
“They might suddenly go: ‘Why don’t we try Canada for a while? Why don’t we try Australia?’ It’s one of the great things about being private individuals [that they can live where they choose],” the source told The Times.
Prince Harry and Meghan were last in Australia in April for a four-day visit. However, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet remained in the US while their parents were Down Under.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Australia in April for events connected with the Invictus Games including a sailing event on Sydney Harbour. Getty
While they were here as private citizens and not representatives of King Charles and the royal family, the tour had all the hallmarks of an official visit.
Prince Harry and Meghan carried out a number of charity engagements in Melbourne and Sydney while the duke visited Canberra in his role as a former member of the armed forces supporting the Invictus Games.
Their joint engagement on Sydney Harbour at the end of the visit was for the Invictus Games and earlier that morning, Prince Harry and Meghan met with emergency services and survivors of the Bondi Beach massacre.
One of Prince Harry’s most high-profile engagements of the tour was a headline speaking event at a mental health summit in Melbourne, while the duchess was the guest speaker at a $1000-a-head women’s only retreat in Sydney.
While Prince Harry was in Canberra visiting the Australian War Memorial in support of the armed forces, Meghan was filming a guest spot on Masterchef Australia.
The duchess appeared in an episode as a guest judge and spoke about her love of food.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Australia tour saw the couple visit Bondi Beach to meet with survivors of the massacre in December last year. Getty
“Food and cooking to me is really a love language,” Meghan said.
“I think it’s such a great way to connect. It’s something that can feel sentimental and meaningful, and it’s how I show my nurturing and love for my friends, family, and my kids.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Meghan said her children “eat Brussels sprouts” and said she preferred cooking without the pressure that came with being on a reality television show.
The former Suits star hosted two seasons of a cooking show on Netflix. Jake Rosenberg/Netflix
“I like to cook in a really relaxed fashion, so all I could say to the competitors was to just remember to have fun, to keep a sense of humour about it and to cook from the heart.
“I’m a California girl. I like grilled fish, grilled meats, lots of citrus. I just like using really pure, natural herbs and spices, like basil and oregano.”
The duchess, who worked as an actress before marrying into the British royal family in 2018, has reinvented herself as a lifestyle influencer following her and Prince Harry’s decision to leave their places as senior working royals six years ago.
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