Meghan Markle Returns to MasterChef Australia as Junior MasterChef Special Guest

Meghan Markle is going back to the kitchen — and this time, the chefs barely come up to the countertop.

The Duchess of Sussex has signed on as a special guest for the 2027 return of Junior MasterChef Australia, Channel 10 has announced, putting her back in the MasterChef universe less than a year after her first spin through it. She won’t be hosting the series outright, despite earlier chatter that she might. Instead, she’ll join host Poh Ling Yeow as a special guest, working alongside the next crop of pint-sized cooks as the beloved junior format comes back after six years away.

For anyone who watched Meghan’s first MasterChef Australia appearance back in April, the news lands as less of a surprise and more of a “well, of course.” She clearly had a ball. And the network clearly noticed. Her guest-judge turn on the adult show pulled the program’s biggest Sunday audience since 2023, according to Paramount ANZ — the kind of number that tends to get a follow-up phone call pretty fast.

This time, though, the whole thing is on a different scale. A few weeks in Australia with the family in tow, cameras rolling in Melbourne, and a kitchen full of kids who will almost certainly be more composed under pressure than most adults. If you’ve ever seen a ten-year-old plate a dessert like they’re defending a title, you know exactly how this goes.

An easy yes, by her own account

Meghan didn’t play coy about why she said yes. In the announcement, she pointed straight back to April — and to her own kitchen at home.

“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. “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. I can’t wait to see what they cook up!”

That’s the part that feels genuine rather than polished, if we’re being honest. Meghan has spent years building a public identity around home cooking — first with her lifestyle brand and her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, and long before that with The Tig, the lifestyle blog she ran during her acting years. Cooking with Archie and Lilibet isn’t a brand-new talking point for her; it’s something she’s mentioned again and again as the normal, grounding bit of family life. Put her in a room with kids who love to cook and she isn’t playing a role. She’s just… in her element.

Reports say she’ll be in Australia for a few weeks with Prince Harry and their children, Archie and Lilibet, while filming takes place. Filming is expected in Melbourne in early to mid-2027, per local reports. It’s a family trip with a TV job attached, rather than a TV job with a family trip bolted on — a distinction that matters, given how carefully the Sussexes have guarded their kids’ privacy in recent years.

Poh Ling Yeow gets a very famous co-pilot

If you’re wondering who actually runs the show while Meghan drops in, that’s Poh Ling Yeow — and she’s thrilled about the reunion.

“I had a lovely time filming with Meghan earlier this year, and being reunited will be a real treat,” Poh said in the announcement. “I can’t wait to meet our pint-sized culinary adventurers — I’m expecting plenty of delicious surprises and a little mischief, too.”

Poh is no stranger to the MasterChef machine. She first won over Australian audiences as a contestant herself, back in the show’s very first season in 2009, and has since become one of the country’s most recognisable food personalities — cookbooks, TV appearances, and a warm, funny on-screen presence that makes her a natural fit for a junior format. Kids can smell a phony from across the room. Poh is the opposite of that.

She’s also in for a seriously busy 2027. Alongside Junior MasterChef, she’ll return to judge the nineteenth season of the main MasterChef Australia series with Andy Allen, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli. So the junior run isn’t a side project squeezed between other things. It’s part of a full year at the centre of the franchise.

And honestly, the pairing makes sense on screen. Poh brings the warmth and the know-how; Meghan brings the star power and the home-cook relatability. One of them will probably end up wiping flour off a small person’s face at some point. That’s just how these shows go.

Why this return matters for the show

Let’s be clear about something: Junior MasterChef Australia doesn’t need a duchess to work. The format has always been its own reward — kids cooking shockingly well, judges trying not to cry over a slightly burnt tart, everyone at home wondering why their own dinner never looks like that. The last run aired six years ago, and there’s a whole new generation of young cooks who grew up watching the adult show and are ready for their turn.

But bringing Meghan back does something specific for Channel 10. Her April appearance proved she can pull a mainstream audience that doesn’t usually tune in for a cooking show. Her first MasterChef stint was announced during the Sussexes’ April visit to Australia, and it became one of the most talked-about TV moments of the year there. Slotting her into the junior revival gives the comeback instant headlines — and, just as importantly, instant credibility with an international audience that might otherwise skip a local revival.

There’s also a neat symmetry to it. Meghan’s television career started in the world of scripted drama — seven seasons as Rachel Zane on Suits, the legal drama that turned her into a familiar face long before royal life entered the picture. Her move into food television has been gradual: a guest-judge spot on America’s Chopped Junior back in 2016, then With Love, Meghan on Netflix, and now a second Australian booking. She’s not chasing a cooking career, exactly. She’s following the thread that’s always been there — the love of a good kitchen, a good meal, and good company — and letting it pull her into rooms she clearly enjoys being in.

The junior format also suits her better than a straight hosting gig might. As a special guest, she can be present and hands-on without carrying the whole show. She gets to taste, encourage, maybe get flour on her sleeve, and then step back and let Poh and the kids do what they do best. It’s a smart setup for everyone involved.

What to expect when the aprons go on

So what will the 2027 season actually look like? Details are still thin — no contestant names yet, no premiere date beyond the 2027 window — but the shape of it is familiar. Young cooks, aged roughly in the primary-to-early-teens range in past seasons, taking on challenges that would make plenty of adults quietly panic. Mystery boxes. Team challenges. The occasional dessert that looks like modern art and tastes even better.

Meghan’s own words hint at the tone she’s expecting: fun first, competition second. “Seeing what these young stars create” isn’t the language of someone there to hand out harsh critiques. Expect encouragement, a few jokes, and at least one moment where a kid’s dish genuinely surprises her. The best junior cooking TV always has that beat — the adult expert tasting something and going quiet for a second, because a twelve-year-old just nailed a flavour combination they hadn’t considered.

For Meghan, there’s a personal layer too. She’ll be filming while her own kids are nearby, in a country where she and Harry have spent meaningful time. It’s a long way from the Montecito kitchen where With Love, Meghan was filmed, but the idea is the same: food as a way of bringing people together, whether that’s family at home or a studio full of strangers who become friends over a stove.

And for Australian audiences, the return is a nostalgia hit with a fresh twist. The junior show has been missed — fans have asked about a revival for years — and bringing it back with Poh at the helm and Meghan as a special guest gives it both familiarity and a jolt of new energy. Six years is a long time to wait for a second helping. By the looks of it, the wait is finally over.

One thing’s for sure: those young cooks have no idea what’s coming. A duchess in the kitchen, a beloved host cheering them on, and a national audience watching every whisk and wobble. No pressure, kids. Just cook like nobody’s watching — even though, this time, absolutely everybody will be.

Source: Just Jared