Meghan Markle could use her new role presenting 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 , 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.
Channel 4 to bring its shows to Disney+ – what we know
Channel 4 and the Walt Disney Company have struck a deal that will bring the British broadcaster’s shows to Disney+ in the UK and Ireland next year.
What you need to know
The agreement includes multiple Channel 4 shows being made available on-demand each year on Disney+, at the same time as their release on the station.
These include drama starring Bella Ramsey, comedy featuring Denise Welch, and reality show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins – along with Channel 4’s main TV channel and additional on-demand content.
How will it work?
When can you watch?
From 2027, Disney+ customers will be able to watch Channel 4’s linear HD channel, plus scripted and unscripted content at no extra cost.
What will be featured?
Channel 4 shows available “day and date” on Disney+, and access to new Channel 4 shows each year.
Where can you find it?
There will be a dedicated Channel 4-branded section intergrated into Disney +.
Why Putin will welcome Trump’s post-midterms mayhem
Even while Vladimir Putin does what he can to help Donald Trump salvage something from this month’s midterm elections, the Russian President is working on the assumption that the Republicans will lose badly.
The Kremlin’s goal
The Kremlin’s goal is to see the West paralysed by internal division and dispute, and it sees a humiliated Trump as a disruptive one.
Mired in a badly conceived and legally questionable war in the Gulf, with petrol and other prices rising and his erratic personal style increasingly counting against him, Trump has looked to Moscow for help.
Putin’s token efforts to aid Trump
- 1Trump’s deal to buy Russian diesel gave Putin the opportunity to pit Kyiv against the White House.
- 2Last week, Putin also freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old US citizen who had been given seven years in prison on charges of being a mercenary fighting for Ukraine.
- 3The Kremlin has also made much of the fact that a ceasefire it has agreed with Kyiv to allow residents of the beleaguered town of Oleshky to receive aid or simply flee the fighting, was driven by the First Lady, Melania.
Why Russia doesn’t care about Trump’s losses
Russians themselves have long regarded Trump as periodically useful, but never reliable.
“We’ve always known that [Trump] was self-indulgent and self-destructive,” a Russian political commentator told The i Paper. “The only question was when he was going to sink his own ship.”
- Moscow has had to see its Venezuelan client toppled and seen European countries ramp up their defence spending at Trump’s behest.
- Trump may press for a peace process as a last chance to secure his legacy and the Nobel Peace Prize.
All the supermarket staples having import tariffs removed
The Chancellor will soon cut tariffs among other cuts to give families “breathing space”.
Budget announcements
Making higher tax-free mileage rates permanent and removing import taxes on some food items are among the measures being announced ahead of Wednesday’s Budget.
The announcements are part of Chancellor John Healey’s pledge to give families what he is calling “breathing space” with the cost of living.
Which foods will have their tariffs cut?
Citrus jams, marmalades and pastes (20% + £19 per 100kg)
Cough drops, boiled sweets, toffees and caramels (8%)
Baked beans (16%)
Other measures announced
- A 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25p per mile
- Allowing carers to earn more than an existing earnings limit without losing their entire allowance
- Giving two weeks of paternity pay to self-employed fathers
- Rolling out hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes to make sending parcels easier
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A minimum wage rise
Healey will also announce the new National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds on Wednesday as well as the National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over.
has reported that the National Minimum Wage is likely to rise by 3.9% from £10.85 an hour to around £11.27.
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Why Jimmy Carr thinks comedy should be taught in school
Stand up comedian Jimmy Carr has said comedy should be taught in schools.
Here is everything we know.
Comedy is a ‘teachable skill’
54-year-old Carr is known for hosting 8 Out Of 10 Cats and as well as performing his own stand-up comedy shows.
Carr said he thinks no one is born funny and that comedy is a “teachable skill” that can help young people find their “authentic voice”.
Comedy is a ‘valuable skill’
Speaking on the podcast, he said: “I think comedy should be taught in schools, well drama more generally, but comedy specifically.
“It is a teachable skill. Is it an innate ability? Are you born funny? I don’t think so.
He added: “You will write down and order your thoughts. You’ll learn to communicate them and you will speak in your own authentic voice.
“It’s a valuable skill to learn.”
Everything you need to know about Israel’s election
Today, Israel is due to hold its first elections since the 7 October Hamas attacks in 2023.
What you need to know
Many Israelis have described the upcoming election as the most important one in their country’s history.
Polls show current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trailing in the race behind his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
However, it may take weeks or months before it’s clear who will be designated the winner.
More about the key players
Netanyahu has led Israel for 19 of the last 30 years at the head of a far-right coalition. He is currently on trial for corruption, so losing power could risk jail time for him.
Gadi Eisenkot is the former head of the Israeli military. He’s positioned himself as the opposite of Netanyahu, naming his party Yashar, or “Honesty”.
What are the polls saying?
Netanyahu in decline
Most polls show Netanyahu’s Likud and his current coalition parters losing their majority.
Anti-Netanyahu majority
Polls also show a clear anti-Netanyahu majority, but opposition seats are divided.
Palestine parties
Palestinian politicians have indicated they might support a minority government to unseat Netanyahu.
Voters disenfranchised
In the occupied West Bank, more than 500,000 Israeli settlers can vote.
In occupied East Jerusalem more than 230,000 Israelis with voting rights live among 350,000 Palestinians who cannot vote.
Two million Palestinians in Gaza, who live under Israeli military occupation, according to the international court of justice, also have no vote.
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What the result could mean
Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot supports the establishment of a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future. Their most significant differences concern democratic institutions, the West Bank and Israel’s relationship with the rest of the world.
- Netanyahu has governed with ultra-Orthodox parties that support settlement expansion in the West Bank. Eisenkot presents himself as a more pragmatic alternative. He has also taken a tougher position against violence by Israeli settlers.
The key detail Spotify is asking family plan users to prove
Spotify has outlined a new verification process for family plan users to prove they live in the same household.
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The process
What has changed?
Spotify will now ask family plan users to verify their address using a QR code.
How will it work?
The plan manager opens the QR code which needs to be scanned. All users on the plan need to be in the same place to scan.
What if you don’t?
If verification isn’t completed in seven days, the member can’t join a different Family or Duo plan for 12 months.
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the quality and value of Premium we implement measures to ensure appropriate use of Spotify accounts. This includes reviewing Household Plans to ensure they are used only by primary account holders and those living at the same address, as stated in our terms and conditions.
a spotify spokesperson told sky news
The Meghan ratings boost
It follows Meghan’s debut appearance on the adult version of 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 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 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 as it would “help” boost her public image.
If the Australian show goes well, Markle could be in demand for more presenting work, Wright added.
He suggested a show like 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 productions, the Australian edition could lead to Meghan appearing as a guest judge on a UK episode, or as a contestant on a celebrity edition for a charity like Comic Relief, an entertainment insider suggested.
, the world’s most successful TV cookery format, is a global brand owned by Banijay Entertainment.
“Presenting looks like an experiment for Meghan – a soft launch which could lead to appearances on the UK show,” Wright added.
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 in the UK.
The BBC has also not commissioned a UK 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 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 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 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 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.