The Duchess of Sussex will return to Australian TV as a special guest co-host of Junior MasterChef Australia in 2027, joining Poh Ling Yeow on Channel 10 — the franchise where her guest-judge appearance drew its biggest Sunday audience since 2023.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has her next TV job — and it takes her back to the kitchen that already proved she can draw an audience. Meghan will star in the next series of Australia’s Junior MasterChef in 2027, returning to a franchise where she appeared as a guest judge on the adult version earlier this year, per Reuters. Channel 10 said on Instagram that Junior MasterChef Australia would return in 2027, hosted by Poh Ling Yeow and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, per Reuters.
The BBC’s reporting, summarised by Zot News from six outlets, puts the role precisely: Meghan has been confirmed as a special guest co-host of the 2027 season, joining host Poh Ling Yeow on the Channel 10 series, and she said she “can’t wait” to take part. “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,” Meghan said in a statement, per the BBC reporting.
Why Channel 10 wanted her back
This is a ratings decision as much as a casting one. Paramount ANZ, which airs the series, said Meghan’s previous MasterChef Australia appearance drew the show’s largest Sunday audience since 2023, per the BBC reporting. Her MasterChef debut was announced on the second day of the four-day tour of Australia she and Prince Harry undertook in April, and it is understood she was not paid for that appearance, per the BBC reporting. Whether she will be paid for the Junior MasterChef season is an open question: Network 10 did not respond to the BBC’s question about it, per the BBC reporting. Filming is expected to take place in Melbourne early to mid-next year, per News.com.au via Reuters.
A new chapter after the Netflix years
The booking lands at a turning point in Meghan’s screen career. In August, the Sussexes announced they were moving back to the UK from California, per the BBC reporting and Reuters. Her Netflix lifestyle and cookery series With Love, Meghan ran for two series and a Christmas special but did not perform well with audiences, and her lifestyle brand As Ever ended its partnership with the streaming platform in March, per the BBC reporting. Last year her trademark was registered in more than a dozen product categories in Australia, including cookware and table linen, per the BBC reporting — which makes an Australian cooking show a considerably more strategic booking than it first looks.
One piece of the timing deserves a plain note. The announcement arrives in the same week Meghan said she was “deeply distressed” over the allegations against her father, Thomas Markle, which Philippine authorities are investigating and which he denies, per Reuters. None of that changes the booking itself — Channel 10 announced a 2027 series, with a host pairing that already delivered the franchise a ratings high — but it is the backdrop against which the news broke overnight.
The 247 Take — Strip away the duchess headlines and this is a smart, testable TV bet: the last time Meghan walked into that kitchen, the show posted its biggest Sunday number in three years, so Channel 10 is buying the sequel while it is still cheap. The junior format suits her, too — cooking with kids is the one version of the Meghan brand nobody argues with. Whether it becomes a real second act in Australian TV now depends on one thing the announcement can’t supply: whether the 2027 audience shows up twice.
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Sources: Reuters, syndicated via Duke FM (Meghan to star in the next series of Australia’s Junior MasterChef in 2027; her earlier guest-judge appearance on the adult version this year; Channel 10’s Instagram announcement that the show returns in 2027 hosted by Poh Ling Yeow and Meghan; filming expected in Melbourne early to mid-next year, per News.com.au; the Sussexes’ move back to Britain; Meghan “deeply distressed” over the allegations against her father, which he denies) | BBC News reporting, summarised by Zot News (confirmed as a special guest co-host of the 2027 season alongside Poh Ling Yeow; her “can’t wait” and “I love cooking with my own kids” statements; Paramount ANZ on her earlier appearance drawing the show’s largest Sunday audience since 2023; the April four-day Australia tour and the debut announced on its second day; understood unpaid for the earlier appearance; Network 10 not responding on pay for the new season; the August move back to the UK; With Love, Meghan’s two series and Christmas special and its performance; the As Ever partnership ending in March; the Australian trademark registrations including cookware and table linen)
