Meghan and Harry 'really stepping into political sphere' says expert

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An American TV producer sees many new faces in a day, so it’s hard to remember a young starlet from over a decade ago who was just starting out on screen. It’s even harder to imagine that one of those young women would go on to become a member of the British royal family.

Invited to speak on the final episode of the Archetypes podcast series, Andy Cohen was confronted with just that reality by Meghan Markle.

The man behind the Real Housewives franchise was left feeling awkward after the Duchess of Sussex revealed they had met before – not once, but twice, while she was a rising star.

The embarrassing moment came as the first series of the discussion-based podcast – part of a reported multi-million-dollar deal with Spotify – drew to a close, with Meghan stating she was a “huge fan” of Mr Cohen’s hit reality show.

The Duchess noted that she had been an avid watcher of the programme until her own life became more “dramatic” – perhaps a nod to her whirlwind romance with Prince Harry.

However, the episode opened on an awkward note, with Mr Cohen greeting Meghan with a “nice to meet you”.

She corrected him: “I met you before. You’ll never remember it.”

Mr Cohen, who is also a late-night talk show host, responded: “You’re joking.”

The Duchess of Sussex laughed, shooting back: “Would I joke about that? This is great.”

She continued: “I met you twice. The first one [was when] Suits wasn’t even on yet. And then when we had maybe [done] season two or three; we were in New York.”

The US TV producer made a series of uncomfortable noises as she recalled their previous encounters, squeamish at having forgotten meeting her.

Adding that she had wanted to be on his talk show, Watch What Happens Live, Meghan said: “I was so eager to be on your show because I was such a [Real] Housewives fan at the time, and I just couldn’t get booked Andy.”

Sensing his discomfort, she added: “It’s not bad, it’s not bad. Don’t sweat.”

Following a series of bit-parts and a stint as a “briefcase girl” on the US version of Deal Or No Deal, the Duchess played Rachel Zane in the TV show Suits from 2011 to 2018, when she retired as an actor and married the Duke of Sussex.

The final episode of her podcast – which began in August, nearly two years after the deal was first announced – entitled Man-ifesting a Cultural Shift also featured comedian and talk show host Trevor Noah, and Judd Apatow, a film director.

Mr Noah is a South African comedian who appeared on several UK panel shows before relocating to the US to become host of the satirical Daily Show.

Mr Apatow, meanwhile, has been behind many US comedy movies of the past two decades, with credits for the Anchorman series, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Bridesmaids.

All three featured on the Archetypes podcast as its first male guests – aside from a brief appearance from Prince Harry – after the Duchess had devoted the rest of the series to interviewing other inspirational women.

In its first series, Meghan has voiced discussions with tennis star Serena Williams, singer Mariah Carey and TV personality Paris Hilton.

She said the idea to speak to some men had been suggested by Harry, as part of an effort to “shift the gender debate”.

Mr Cohen and the Duchess spent time discussing the use of the “b-word”, which she revealed a personal “hatred” towards.

The TV producer said the word had been “banned” from Real Housewives because it was viewed as demeaning, despite one housewife arguing its use could be empowering.

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