Sky News host Rita Panahi stunned viewers this week when she weighed in on Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s latest filming project with Netflix before branding the show “bloody awful” live on air.
In a candid segment, Rita Panahi didn’t mince her words as she discussed the Duchess’ upcoming cooking show, which recently wrapped up filming near Meghan and Prince Harry’s California home in Montecito. Despite the show’s lack of a formal title or air date, it is expected to “celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.”
Panahi’s assessment was clear: “It sounds bloody awful.” Her unfiltered critique left no room for ambiguity, and she even turned to fellow reporter Kinsey Schofield, asking, “Will you be hate watching this, so I don’t have to?”
Kinsey Schofield, momentarily stunned, replied, “I was looking forward to a recap, but if I have to be the one to take the hit, I’ll do it. Yeah, you’re exactly right.”
The stakes are high for Meghan’s show. As Panahi pointed out, Harry and Meghan’s only commercial success so far has been their Harry & Meghan docuseries, which featured hours of candid moments and critiques of the British royal family. Their other ventures, including “Live to Lead” and “Heart of Invictus,” fell flat.
Panahi’s laughter in the background underscored the long list of failed projects. She dismissed Harry’s polo program, calling it unlikely to succeed. And the one thing that did work? According to Panahi, it was “awful”—a reality series that felt like a “poor man’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
In her final verdict, Panahi didn’t hold back: “I had to watch that. I had to take one for the team, and I don’t want to ever have to do that again.”
As Meghan’s cooking show awaits its debut, the pressure is on. Will it rise above the rest or join the ranks of their less successful endeavors? Only time—and viewership numbers—will tell.
