Meghan Markle Just Shattered ‘Masterchef’ Australia’s Ratings Record – But Not Everyone’s Impressed

Guest judge appearances on cooking competition shows are usually a reliable ratings boost, but rarely do they generate quite this much conversation before a single dish even hits the table. When word got out about who was joining the panel for one particular episode, anticipation quickly turned into one of the summer’s bigger television talking points.

That anticipation had been building for months, ever since Meghan Markle filmed her guest spot on ‘MasterChef Australia’ back in April during a trip that also included a series of engagements across Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. The Duchess of Sussex joined the panel alongside regular judges Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, and Jean-Christophe Novelli for a challenge centered on crafting a dish “fit for a duchess.”

When the episode finally aired on July 26, the numbers came in far bigger than anyone likely expected. According to figures released by broadcaster Network 10, the episode reached 1.6 million Total TV viewers across Australia, delivering the show’s largest overnight Sunday audience since July 2023 and setting an all-time streaming record with 118,000 viewers watching on demand.

Those numbers held up even after seven-day tracking was factored in, with the episode topping the Total Viewing rankings at 1.22 million viewers nationwide. The national Total TV audience climbed a striking sixteen percent compared to the equivalent episode the previous year, while the episode also dominated its timeslot among viewers aged twenty-five to fifty-four with a 29.3 percent share.

The moment took an unexpected turn partway through the episode when Prince Harry made a surprise video call onto the set, referring to Meghan as “my love” in front of the show’s largest audience in years. That kind of unscripted, personal beat added an extra layer of buzz to an already heavily anticipated episode.

Despite the record-breaking numbers, viewer reaction to Meghan’s appearance itself has been considerably more divided. Reports circulating before the episode aired suggested tension on set, with celebrity journalist Rob Shuter citing unnamed production insiders who described Meghan as one of the most demanding celebrity guests the long-running series had ever hosted, allegedly leaving cast and crew feeling exhausted.

A separate source speaking to RadarOnline offered a similar characterization, suggesting there was a sense Meghan approached the appearance as if embodying the role of a culinary authority rather than simply acting as a guest. Sources close to Meghan have since pushed back on those claims, describing them as inaccurate.

That split between record ratings and mixed audience sentiment isn’t entirely new territory for Meghan. Her Netflix series ‘With Love, Meghan’ similarly generated a big initial streaming spike before ultimately struggling to maintain momentum, ranking just 383 on Netflix’s engagement charts with a 36% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes despite its early top-10 debut.

Still, the MasterChef numbers represent a genuine ratings win regardless of how individual viewers felt about her time on the panel. Average viewership across the current season sits at 851,000, itself already up twelve percent year-over-year, making Meghan’s episode a clear standout even against an already improving season.

Channel 10 has not confirmed whether Meghan will return for a future guest appearance. For now, the episode stands as one of the biggest ratings moments ‘MasterChef Australia’ has delivered in years, even as opinions on her time in the kitchen remain sharply split.

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