Meghan Markle dealt ultimate embarrassment as TV star’s copycat series flops
Meghan Markle in her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan (Image: Netflix)
Holly Willoughby has recently relaunched her career and shifted to YouTube for a lifestyle show, but the public’s feedback was so bad as she is now being compared to Meghan Markle, who previously launched her Netflix lifestyle show Love with Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex was teased for her endless pursuit of “moments of joy” on camera, and now embarrassingly, critics judged her Netflix show could be “more watchable”, as opposed to Holly’s digital show. Entertainment journalist Stephanie Takyi shared her thoughts on TalkTV and described Holly’s new show, Together, as “watching paint dry”.
She said: “Holly is back but she is not back with a bang. You know, this is a very sink or swim moment for Holly Willoughby’s career, and right now, she’s sinking. She’s no longer the nation’s TV sweetheart anymore, we’ve seen through that. We’ve seen the controversy over the past few years. We want a bit of realism from Holly.”
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Holly Willoughy’s YouTube show was criticised by viewers (Image: YouTube)
However, the journalist added that she could sense Holly’s “nervous energy” in the first episode and she believed that the ex-This Morning presenter could do better. She continued:”So she’s now come back, gone into this Meghan, Martha Stewart-kind of era, and so far it’s not working. I think this is very much a last shot saloon for Holly Willoughby’s career, but we have to give her the benefit of the doubt. It was the first episode, but if I’m honest, Mark, it was like watching paint dry. I fell asleep half way through it.”
Presenter Mark Dolan, who also has his own YouTube show, pointed out that many established TV stars and TV producers are struggling to understand the YouTube and digital space. He mentioned that Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s YouTube channel, which attracted merely 200 views from a single video.
Stephanie believed that Holly has to work hard to get viewers to like her and watch her for 50 minutes. She questioned if Holly’s show has the longevity to keep people entertained, adding: “”With TV, we’re forced to watch the likes of Holly, or Ant and Dec, because they are part of the big brands. But on YouTube, people are way more selective.”
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One viewer dubbed Holly as “Meghan Markle 2.0” while another said: “This reminds me of Meghan Markle, it’s pathetic.”
On the other hand, Meghan’s cancelled show has shifted from a Netflix chatshow to an awards contender. Two weeks ago, “With Love, Meghan” was announced as a 2026 Daytime Emmy nominee, and the Duchess was feeling “vindicated”, according to Closer.
A source said:”Meghan is beyond excited about getting this nomination. She sees it as proof that the show struck a chord with the people that matter.
“She was crushed when the show got cancelled, so this naturally has her feeling pretty vindicated. She also feels the ratings were unfairly judged and nowhere near as bad as some people made out.”
