Duchess, 45, lands surprise TV job in Australia: 'It was an easy yes'

One duchess, 45, has a new TV job, and it's on the other side of the world.

The news broke on Tuesday, October 27, when Paramount Australia, which owns Network 10, revealed her role in a 2027 series.

She called it "an easy yes."

The star is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and the show is Junior MasterChef Australia, where she'll work alongside Poh Ling Yeow.

It started with one episode

The deal grew out of a single guest spot. During a four-day trip to Australia with Prince Harry in April, Meghan filmed an episode of MasterChef Australia as a guest judge.

That trip took the couple from the Sydney Opera House to Bondi Beach, where Meghan met volunteer lifesavers, and on to Melbourne.

The episode aired in July and drew "the show's largest Sunday audience since 2023," according to Paramount Australia.

Producers clearly noticed. So did Meghan.

"I had an incredible time with the whole team at MasterChef this past April, so when they approached me to come back and work with this young group of talent, it was an easy yes," she said in a statement.

Her new co-star sounds just as keen. "I had a lovely time filming with Meghan earlier this year, and being reunited will be a real treat," Yeow said.

Weeks away from home

The show films at the MasterChef Australia kitchen in Melbourne, where Meghan is expected to spend several weeks in the first half of 2027.

That's a long way from home, and from Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

According to People, the family isn't planning to move to Australia. It isn't yet clear whether Harry and the children will join her for filming.

Then there's the money. The BBC reported Meghan wasn't paid for her April episode, and Paramount Australia didn't respond when asked about pay for the new series.

It isn't her first food show. She guest-judged Chopped Junior on Food Network in 2016, and hosted her own Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, which ran for two seasons and won't be back for a third.

Now she's swapping Netflix for a Melbourne kitchen full of junior chefs.