Variety magazine joked in 2022 that Ozempic deserved its own thank-you speech at the Emmys, because so many stars on the podium had obviously been taking it. 

Hype around the drug hit the general public last year, but as with most trends it had already been doing the rounds in Hollywood, with celebrity fans including Kelly Osbourne, 39, Oprah Winfrey, 70, Amy Schumer, 42 and Boy George, 62, all admitting to using it. 

However while many raved about the new weight loss jab, other celebrities have spoken out to warn others of the grim after-effects.

Sharon Osbourne, 71, has voiced both the benefits and negative effects of using the drug, telling ITV’s Loose Women she stood by using it but she did regret continuing to take the jabs after her weight dropped below seven stone, saying ‘Be careful what you wish for’.

While Stephen Fry, 66, said his ‘astonishing’ weight loss came at a price, after Ozempic caused him to vomit up to five times a day.

Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry has become the latest big name star to warn of the dangers of the drug, The Mirror reported.

He attributes his obsession with food to his childhood in Norfolk, and the cook Mrs Riseborough employed by his parents Marianne and Alan who was a ‘good English plain cook’. 

After years of battling with his weight as a result, Fry said he was pleasantly surprised by the drug’s effectiveness and found it stopped all of his cravings for food and alcohol.

He said: ‘The first week or so, I was thinking, “This is astonishing. Not only do I not want to eat, I don’t want any alcohol of any kind. This is going to be brilliant.

‘Then I started feeling sick, and I started getting sicker and sicker and sicker. I was throwing up four, five times a day and I thought, “I can’t do this”. So that’s it. The new variant, Tirzepatide Mounjaro, makes it even worse apparently.’

Fry, who is married to comedian Elliott Spencer, says he was at his heaviest in April 2019 when his weight came to nearly 21st.

But by August of that year, he had lost five and a half stone after taking the drug.

Kelly Osbourne 

Kelly Osbourne is a vocal fan of Ozempic even calling the drug ‘amazing’ while speaking to E! News in February.

Part of the appeal to Kelly was that she found it less ‘boring’ than changing one’s diet and increasing exercise to lose weight.

‘There are a million ways to lose weight, why not do it through something that isn’t as boring as working out?’ she said. 

The daughter of Ozzy Osbourne went further, accusing critics of the medication and similar drugs of being jealous or deceitful. 

‘People hate on it because they want to do it. And the people who hate on it the most are the people who are secretly doing it or pissed off that they can’t afford it. Unfortunately, right now, it’s something that is very expensive, but it eventually won’t be because it actually works.’

Oprah Winfrey

The television host finally admitted to using the weight-loss drug in December — after previously vowing she would never use Ozempic or a similar drug because they were the ‘easy way out’.

The 70-year-old had lost more than 18kg over recent months, which led to speculation that she used the weight loss medication to help.

Oprah previously revealed she weighed 107.5kg at her heaviest, however she did not say what her current weight was. 

She revealed in an interview with People that she ‘now [uses] it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing’.

‘The fact that there’s a medically-approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.’ 

She did not reveal which weight loss drug she used, although many speculated that she had got a prescription for Ozempic.

Oprah said she took the medication before Thanksgiving, and credited it with ensuring she only gained half a pound rather than eight.

Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, she fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was no longer ‘constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be’.

She said ‘for 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport’ and that over the years she had ‘lost some weight’ and ‘put back on some weight’ but since starting to take medication she had stopped ‘obsessing’ about food. 

Along with messages of support online, some viewers slammed Oprah, accusing her of ‘promoting big pharma and pushing Ozempic’ and criticizing her for taking the drugs after spending nine years promoting Weight Watchers.

The show was released days after Oprah quit her Weight Watchers board role, citing a potential ‘conflict of interest’ with the show, which heavily featured weight loss drug brands.

During the show, Oprah pushed back at people she said wanted to ‘shame’ her for her weight and for taking the drugs.

She said: ‘I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment… to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they chose to lose and not lose weight.’

She added: ‘All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me.

‘But now I realize y’all weren’t even thinking about the food. It’s not that you had the willpower. You weren’t even thinking about it. You weren’t obsessing about it.’

Now, she said: ‘I use it as a tool, combined with hiking three or five miles a day or running. It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things for me.’

Sharon Osbourne 

Sharon Osbourne has also revealed she took Ozempic — but said she lost so many pounds on the drug that she ‘needed to put weight back on’.

The 71-year-old started taking the drug in 2023 when she weighed 142lbs (64.4kg).

She shed more than 45lbs (20kg) on the medication, but then her weight fell down to 97lbs (43kg).

‘I can’t afford to lose anymore,’ she said. My weight has stabilized. I went down to about 97lb (43kg) and it was like, ‘oh no!’. I needed to put some weight back on, which I have.’

She added while speaking to Women magazine: ‘You can lose so much weight and it’s easy to become addicted to that, which is very dangerous.

‘I couldn’t stop losing weight and now I’ve lost 42lbs — and I can’t afford to lose anymore.’

She added that when she first went on the drug she felt ‘very nauseous’ and was vomiting regularly. It took about two weeks for this to subside.

She urged people to keep the drug away from teenagers, saying it was just ‘too easy’ to become addicted.

She recently revealed doctors ‘can’t figure out’ why she hasn’t been able to gain weight back after she stopped using Ozempic months ago.

Asked about her weight loss in an interview with Woman Magazine released on Tuesday, Sharon said that even medics are stumped by her inability to gain the weight back.

The doctors can’t figure it out,’ she said. ‘But I think it’s just because I’m getting older and as you get older you lose weight anyway and shrink and shrivel off.’

Sharon started taking Ozempic in December 2022 and in November 2023 she told Mail On Sunday: ‘I’ve been off it a while now.’

Boy George

Boy George opened up about his fluctuating weight in his memoir Karma, which was released last year.

‘I know I don’t enjoy being overweight and it’s something I really want to deal with,’ he wrote. 

‘I have struggled with my weight most of my life and being under public and media scrutiny doesn’t help.’  

The Karma Chameleon singer, 62, wrote that he started out with Ozempic and then switched to Mounjaro.

Mounjaro uses the active ingredient tirzepatide, which targets GLP-1 and the hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). Mounjaro is only FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes.  

George wrote: ‘I love food, and I can’t control my appetite, but I think I have finally got it under control.’ 

‘Well, I’m on Mounjaro. Isn’t everyone? Trust me, anyone who was fat last year and is not skinny is on the wonder drug.’

The singer also got a tummy tuck several years ago ‘to get rid of excess skin’ after losing 100 pounds. 

Heather Gay

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star announced that she has been taking Ozempic to lose weight.

At Variety’s Women of Reality TV event, she said that while she uses the drug, she has yet to see a big difference.

‘I’ve been on it for a long time, but hadn’t really seen much results,’ she told People. 

She also said that people around her started acting differently when they learned she was on Ozempic, which she found ‘discouraging.’ 

‘You lose five pounds, people are nicer to you,’ the 49-year-old said. ‘I don’t know why. It’s just the way the world works, and that makes me sad for women.’

‘But I’m happy that I’m down five.’ 

Tracy Morgan 

The comedian has also revealed he was taking Ozempic, saying the drug ‘cuts my appetite in half.’

The 55-year-old said he had lost several pounds on the drug and that he ‘ain’t letting it go.’

Speaking on the Today show, the star said he injected himself with the drug every Thursday to help with weight loss.

When told he had been working on his body and health a lot on the show, he said: ‘No, that’s Ozempic.

‘That’s how this weight got lost. I went and got a prescription and I got Ozempic. And I ain’t letting it go! It cuts my appetite in half. Now I only eat half a bag of Doritos.’

Elon Musk  

One of the world’s richest men said Ozempic made him ‘fit, ripped and healthy’, Elon Musk said he lost almost 30lbs (13.6kg) while taking the drug.

He revealed that he was using it in October 2022 when a fan asked what the secret was to his new slimmed-down appearance. Musk, 53, replied ‘Fasting’, before adding: ‘And Wegovy’.

He has also said his transformation was down to: ‘Fasting + Ozempic/Wegovy + no tasty food for me.’  

He said his weight-loss journey was prompted after seeing unflattering images of himself on a yacht. The 53-year-old’s weight loss formula prompted admiration from fans.

He also admitted to suffering a side effect from the drug. A Twitter user asked: ‘Does it give you those nasty burps? Taste like rotten eggs lol ugh.’ He replied: ‘Yeah, next-level.’

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams said that he’s on ‘something like Ozempic’ to keep the pounds off.  After overcoming addictions to drugs and alcohol, the hitmaker has revealed that he’s on a mission to better his health.

‘Babe, I’m on Ozempic,’ he told The Times. ‘Well, something like Ozempic. It’s like a Christmas miracle.’

The 50-year-old, who did not reveal exactly what drug or regimen he’s on, said that he has lost 25 pounds so far. 

Williams has also said that he struggles with body dysmorphia, a mental health condition that causes a person to obsess over flaws in their appearance, such as weight.

‘And I need it, medically. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 self-loathing,’ he said. It’s shockingly catastrophic to my mental health to be bigger.’

Amy Schumer

The comedian and actress revealed that she had tried the medication — but quickly gave it up.

The 42-year-old said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: ‘Like a year ago, I tried it.

‘I was one of those people that felt so sick and couldn’t play with my son. I was so skinny and he’s throwing a ball at me and [I couldn’t].’

She said she quickly gave up the medication, realizing it was not for her. She said: ‘And you’re like, ‘OK, this isn’t livable for me’. But I immediately invested [in it] because I knew everyone was going to try it.’

Schumer revealed that she had opted for liposuction, however, to help lose weight.

She said: ‘I just wanted to say that because if anybody sees me in pictures or anything and they’re like, she looks thinner, and whatever: It’s because I had a surgery.’

Emily Simpson

Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson started taking Ozempic after a doctor suggested she may be prediabetic. 

‘So I did. I did that in December,’ she said last year. For one month and you know, that was a great kickstart for me.’

She said that Ozempic helped her kick habits like ‘grazing’ and ‘not really paying attention’ to what she was eating.

She lost about seven pounds on the drug but stopped taking it due to exhaustion.

‘I didn’t like the way it made me feel lethargic and it made me just not have a lot of energy, which was hard with three little kids, but it does make you feel full and it does make you, for me, it was like a refresh,’ she said. 

While it may be becoming increasingly controversial among some people, the tradition of Miss World – at least for now – lives on.

The competition, which was founded in the UK in 1951 by Eric Morley, was originally part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, and was known by the name the Festival Bikini Contest.

In fact, the original purpose of the event was to promote the bikini, a fairly new addition to the fashion market – and it was reportedly the press which dubbed the competition, which at that time was considered by many to be rather immodest, ‘Miss World’.

Eventually, to counteract this, in 1980, the pageant introduced a new slogan: Beauty With a Purpose. Contestants were given the additional challenges of intelligence and personality tests. But this was not enough for the BBC to keep broadcasting the event, ditching it in 1984, after which it was moved to various channels including ITV, Thames Television, Sky One, and Channel 5.

Dropping the show, BBC1 controller Michael Grade said: ‘I believe these contests no longer merit national air time. They are an anachronism in this day and age of equality and verging on the offensive.’

Here, FEMAIL looks at what happened to some of the contestants after they were crowned in the controversial event.

Kaiane Aldorino 

Crowned in December 2009, Kaiane made history with her victory as the first ever Miss Gibraltar to be crowned Miss World.

She was the first Gibraltarian woman not only to win a major pageant, but to ever reach the semi-finals of a major one.

And the pageant winner, who was born in 1986, arguably refutes Michael Grade’s opinion that these contestants are an ‘anachronism’ which fail to ‘merit air time’.

After all, she had impressive achievements under her belt: Kaiane is a Gibraltarian politician – between 2017 and 2019, she held the ceremonial position of mayor.

Preceded by a stint as Deputy Mayor, which began in 2014, she became mayor of the territory in 2017. 

On top of this, in 2018, Kaiane took part in a twinning ceremony between Gibraltar and Jamaica. She was part of a delegation that travelled to Jamaica in 2019 to consolidate the agreement.

She has also carried out philanthropic gestures, donating $10,000 received from the Miss World Organization to the Rainbow Ward at St Bernard’s Hospital and St Martin’s School in 2018.

Kaiane, the first woman to receive the Freedom of the City in Gibraltar, visited more than 40 countries during her reign.

Linor Abargil

Israeli Linor Abargil, who was born in 1980, won Miss World in 1998. Her victory came after she had signed with Look modeling agency in 1996. 

It also followed Linor being raped at knifepoint in 1998 while in Milan, an event which would inspire her to become a global advocate fighting against sexual violence. 

Despite the violence of the attack, and despite arresting the rapist, Italian authorities declined to prosecute and released the attacker.

The trauma of the attack made it difficult for Linor to deal with her public duties and fame after winning the Miss World title.

After frustration at the Italian authorities’ refusal to prosecute, Linor then reported the attack to Israeli authorities.

They were more proactive, issuing an arrest warrant for the rapist, and beginning extradition proceedings.

After her Miss World win, Linor continued modelling and did some acting. 

Eventually, however, she  decided to give up modelling and instead enrolled in law school, planning to use her education to fight sexual violence.

In 2008, Linor became the subject of a documentary she initiated about her rape and subsequent activism, titled Brave Miss World. 

Premiering on Israeli television in 2013 and screening at multiple film festivals in the United States and Europe throughout 2013 and 2014, the film was praised and nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Film.

Now a mother-of-four, Linor was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 2019.

Mary Stävin

Swede Mary Stävin, who was born in Örebro County in 1957 was crowned Miss World in 1977. 

After winning the pageant, she appeared in some of the most prolific films of all the winners.

She started her acting career seriously in the early 80s, with roles in two music videos Ant Rap and Strip – both for Adam Ant.

Mary also enjoyed appearances in two James Bond films: Octopussy, where she played an Octopussy girl, and A View to a Kill, playing agent Kimberley Jones, a larger role among other films. She also appeared in TV show Twin Peaks.

Famously, Bond Roger Moore wrote of the model and actress ‘floating away on board a submarine with Mary Stavin must be many men’s dream’. 

The win also meant she enjoyed a prolific dating life, seeing footballer Don Shanks from 1978 to 1982, and George Best from 1982 to 1985. The two worked together on an exercise album titled Shape Up and Dance.

Mary now lives in California with her second husband businessman Nicholas Wilcockson, who she wed in 1995, and the couple’s daughter.

Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite ‘Agbani’ Darego

Nigerian Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite ‘Agbani’ Darego was the first black African woman in the competition’s history to be crowned Miss World.

The model and beauty queen, who was born in 1982, was named winner of the competition in 2001 (she won Miss Universe that same year).

While she had some modelling experience before winning the competitions, after picking up the tandem crowns for Miss World and Miss Universe in 2001, her career skyrocketed.

Supermodel  Naomi Campbell invited her to take part in charity fashion Frock ‘n’ Roll in Barcelona, and she negotiated a modelling contract with American agency Trump Model Management.

Following her reign as Miss World, the London and Paris branches of Next Model Management represented her, winning her a three-year contract with L’Oréal (making her the second black model to do so).

The list of major brands Agbani has modelled for include Christian Dior and Sephora among many others.

Denise Perrier

Denise Perrier, who was born in 1935, is the only French Miss World winner. The former French actress, model and beauty queen picked up the crown in 1953.

Both before and after the victory, she has enjoyed some impressive achievements. 

When she was 18 years old, Denise was invited to compete in the Miss Saint-Raphaël beauty pageant contest – which she won.

The victory led to her participation (and victory) in Miss France, then in 1953 she was crowned Miss World.

Following the victory, Denise appeared in a number of films, most memorably, 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever.

She had a total career change after giving up modelling, moving to local government, working for the Mayor of Nice Jacques Médecin.

Denise has judged a number of Miss World competitions, in 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Rosemarie Frankland

Born in Wales in 1943, before moving to England as a child, Rosemarie enjoyed visiting a number of countries and throughout her lifetime (she died in 2000).

Rosemarie won the Miss World crown in 1961 (after previously finishing as a runner-up in the Miss Universe 1961 competition). 

Taking part in a lot of pageants, Rosemarie first won Miss Wales, before becoming Miss London in 1961.

She was crowned Miss Wales by Bob Hope who described her as ‘the most beautiful girl he had ever seen’.

She is said to have had an affair with Hope lasting many years, before becoming his personal assistant.

Meanwhile, professionally, she enjoyed a short acting career including a role in the 1965 film, I’ll Take Sweden starring Bob Hope.

Rosemarie married Grass Roots singer/guitarist Warren Entner in 1970, with the couple having a daughter together in 1976, before divorcing in 1981.

Ann Sidney

Born in the UK in 1944, Ann Sidney took a hairdressing apprenticeship before deciding she’d rather try her hand at modelling. 

She had some success and was crowned Miss World in 1964, becoming the second woman from her country to be crowned after Rosemarie Frankland.

Her reign as Miss World allowed her to see much of the world, and Ann travelled around the globe five times during her tenure – joining Bob Hope on his USO tour of Asia.

After giving up the title, Ann enjoyed a successful acting career.

Her credits included roles on the TV show The Avengers and Are You Being Served? among others.

She also appeared in a number of films, including (but not limited to) spy thriller Sebastian, and Performance (1970) with James Fox and Mick Jagger.

Reita Faria

Born in India in 1943, Reita Faria scooped the Miss World title in 1966, before her career took a major turn.

Reita is well-known for being the first winner of Miss World to qualify as a medical doctor.

As a tall adolescent, Reita was mocked and called ‘mommy long legs’, however, her height would go on to serve her well, both in playing sport at school and in her pageant career. 

Despite being offered a range of acting roles and lucrative modelling contracts during her year-long tenure a Miss World, she turned them down.

Instead, Reita studied medicine at the Grant Medical College & Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals followed by King’s College Hospital, London.

In 1971, she wed her mentor David Powell, with the couple moving to Dublin in 1973, where she started practising medicine.

Marjorie Wallace

After being crowned in 1973, US winner Majorie Wallace, born in 1954, made history as the first American woman to be crowned Miss World.

While in the UK in the early 70s to compete for the crown, she defeated 53 competitors at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

And she enjoyed dating some of the most prolific celebrities, including George Best and Tom Jones

She would go on to make history 104 days later, but this time, for a more negative reason.

Organisers decided to take away her crown as punishment for having an affair, making her the first winner to lose her title this way, just 104 days after acquiring it. 

However, it did not stop the beauty pageant entrant, who was born in Indianapolis, from enjoying a career in entertainment.

As an original co-host, Majorie helped launch the television programme Entertainment Tonight some years later.

Moving to LA in the 70s, Marjorie appeared on several television programmes including Baretta, Get Christie Love! and Match Game. 

Helen Elizabeth Morgan 

The next winner, Brit Helen Morgan who was born in 1952 and was crowned in 1974, also made history, but for a different reason.

Helen became the first winner to resign, making her the second winner (after Marjorie, just one year before) to cut her reign short. 

The Staffordshire-based banker, who entered modelling competitions on a part-time basis, scooped both Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom in 1974.

Her victory in Miss United Kingdom allowed Helen to enter Miss World, which she went on to win.

However, after only four days, she became the subject of lurid headlines when it was discovered that she was an unwed mother with a n 18-month-old son. 

Despite not breaking competition rules, pressure from organisers, who felt embarrassed, led her to give up the title.

Although she lost the Miss World title, as Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom Helen decided to leave her role at the bank, taking up a career in modelling, TV and films instead.

Meghan Markle put her most fashionable foot forward as she marked International Women’s Day in true Hollywood style by appearing on a celebrity-studded panel at SXSW – while her husband Prince Harry cheered her on from the front row.

The 42-year-old Duchess of Sussex joined actress Brooke Shields and longtime news anchor Katie Couric on-stage at the prestigious festival, where she was leading a panel discussion about ‘breaking barriers’ and ‘women’s representation’. 

Beaming with pride as she walked out on stage, having been introduced to the crowd as Megan, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan then took her seat alongside her fellow panelists for the discussion – during which she candidly opened up about the ‘hatred’ she received while pregnant with her children.  

The Duchess of Sussex, who traveled to Austin from her $14.65 million home in Montecito on Thursday, looked radiant in a silver-beige $1,000 Giuliva Heritage silk maxi skirt and matching $975 button-up shirt, a look that she accessorized with some chunky gold earrings.  

Throughout the panel discussion, Harry, 39, was seen gazing up at his wife from the front row, joining his fellow guests in applauding Meghan – whom he joined for a date night on Thursday at the Austin venue of private members’ club Soho House.  

Prince Harry was joined in the front row by the couple’s very close friend, Soho House mogul Markus Anderson, who was instrumental in bringing the Sussexes together in the early days of their relationship.  

The Duchess began by gushing about her ‘excitement’ to be joining the panel, before going on to tout the many female-focused initiatives that she and Prince Harry work on through their nonprofit, the Archewell Foundation.   

‘I’m so excited to be here and to be with such incredible women, so much brilliance on this panel and this is just such an amazing way to celebrate International Women’s Day,’ she said. 

She then went on to discuss a wide range of topics, including: 

• Hatred she has received on social media, particularly when she was pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet 
• The need for more inclusivity and accurate representation of women and mothers in media  
• Fighting to protect children and young people from dangers of social media while praising Prince Harry for being an ‘incredible partner’ and ‘hands-on’ dad
• Retold her story about leading campaign to change ‘sexist’ soap commercial when she was 11 years old 

FIGHTING FOR BETTER REPRESENTATION OF MOTHERS IN MEDIA  

When asked about the Archewell Foundation’s decision to fund a recent report calling for ‘true representation’ for mothers on TV, Meghan explained that she and Harry had chosen to get involved with the project for ‘three key reasons’. 

‘My husband and I, our foundation helped to fund it because I think from our standpoint, and certainly from mine, there are three key reasons why it felt vital to see the information they were going to be pulling from this report,’ she said. 

‘On a personal level, I’ve just always loved understanding women and our stories and our lived experiences and our shared experiences so I was really curious to see what the report was going to uncover. 

‘Oftentimes as women, the way that we see ourselves is reflected back to us, sometimes accurately, and sometimes, much to our disservice, inaccurately, in what we see in media. 

‘So to be able to have the findings to uncover what we can do to propel that, to make sure women are really feeling seen in a way that is reflective of who and how we are and how we move through the world, felt important. 

‘From a philanthropic standpoint with our foundation, there is obviously a lot of work to be done in supporting women and moms. You can begin with paid leave.’

She went on to note that Archewell’s production arm is focusing more on its own representation of women and mothers ‘as it expands its slate’ of projects, both on-screen and in podcasting. 

Meghan has her own female-focused podcast, Archetypes, which began as part of the Sussexes’ lucrative deal with Spotify, but has since moved to Lemonade Media, after the couple parted ways with the popular streaming company. 

‘IT’S NOT CATTY, IT’S CRUEL’: OPENING UP ABOUT ‘HATRED’ SHE RECEIVED DURING HER PREGNANCIES 

Meghan went on to open up about the hatred she received online while pregnant with her children, Archie, now four, and Lilibet, now two. 

‘I keep my distance from [social media] right now for my wellbeing but the bulk of the bullying and abuse I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn, with each of them,’ she said after being asked about the trolling she has faced.

‘You just think about that and to wrap your head about why people would be so hateful. it’s not catty it’s cruel. Why you would do that when you’re pregnant or as a mom at such a tender and sacred time.’ 

She questioned how anyone could ‘do that’ to a an expectant or new mother – noting that much of the vitriol she was seeing online was coming from women trying to take down other women. 

‘[It’s] women completely spewing that to other women and I cannot make sense of that,’ Meghan continued. 

MEGHAN PRAISES HARRY FOR BEING AN ‘INCREDIBLE PARTNER’ AND A ‘HANDS-ON’ DAD 

Having discussed the toll that online ‘hatred’ had on her throughout her pregnancies and in the early stages of motherhood, Meghan went on to discuss the ways in which the Archewell Foundation is working to ensure that women and mothers can feel safer and more supported online. 

While opening up about the ‘dizzying’ impact that social media can have on a new mom, Meghan praised the ‘support’ that she receives from Prince Harry, describing him as an ‘incredible partner’ and a ‘hands-on dad’ to their two kids.  

‘The effect that social media can have a new mothers… even just the lack of sleep because they spend all this time scrolling and scrolling,’ she said. 

‘But it can also be really dizzying for them to see this portrayal of motherhood that looks so perfect, when we all know that it’s not perfect. We all know that it’s messy. 

‘I’m fortunate in that amongst the privileges that I have in my life, I have an incredible partner. My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and of my family, and that I don’t take for granted, that is a real blessing. 

‘But a lot of people don’t have that same level of support. So for us, it’s just trying to put the safeguards in so women, and moms especially, can not feel like they’re even more vulnerable when they go online, so they can somehow feel like they are going to a safer place.’

KATIE COURIC ASKS MEGHAN TO RETELL SEXIST P&G SOAP CAMPAIGN STORY FROM HER CHILDHOOD

One topic of conversation was how society can work towards making ‘the world more equitable’, a discussion that Meghan began by noting the importance of representation for ‘young girls’. 

‘If you’re a young girl and you see yourself in a position of power or strength or leadership, you can believe that is possible,’ she said. 

‘If you look out on the screen, or you look out in the world, and you see no one that looks like you, it is incomprehensible for most people to imagine that they can have that level of success or joy or strength.’

Former Today anchor Katie then asked Meghan if she would ‘retell the story about when you wrote that letter to P&G’, referring to an anecdote that the Duchess has told on multiple occasions about fighting against a ‘sexist’ Procter & Gamble commercial when she was 11 years old. 

‘I don’t know if anyone… if everyone’s heard it, but it’s such a great story at a very young age,’ Katie went on, before apologizing for ‘disrupting the flow’ of the panel. 

Beaming with pride, Meghan happily agreed to share the story with the crowd – having mentioned it at multiple events over the years. 

‘I was 11 years old, about 11 years old, and I had seen a commercial on TV for a dishwashing liquid, and the boys in my class at the time… you know it said, “Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans,” and the boys said, “Yeah that’s where women belong, in the kitchen,”‘ Meghan recalled. 

‘And at 11, I just found that infuriating, and [so] I ended up writing lots of letters, I put pen to paper, and they ended up changing the commercial to “people all over America”.

‘It’s funny to look back at it now, because that was before social media where you have a reach that is so much greater, it was just an 11 year old with a pen and paper. 

‘But it just goes to show that if you know that there’s something wrong and you’re using your voice to advocate in the direction of what is right, that can really land and resonate and make huge change for a lot of people.’

Meghan then concluded: ‘Your voice is not small, it just needs to be heard.’ 

The festival announced Meghan’s involvement in the panel earlier this week, billing the Duchess as a ‘visionary female leader’, while noting that she and her fellow guests would discuss ‘breaking barriers’ and ‘challenging stereotypes’ while speaking about ‘women’s representation in media and entertainment’. 

‘Women’s representation in media and entertainment has come a long way, but there’s still much to be done, especially for women of color and mothers,’ the SXSW blurb about the panel – entitled Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen – read. 

‘Social media’s omnipresence has raised the stakes, creating an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular. 

‘On International Women’s Day, we’ll hear from feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder of The Archewell Foundation and Archewell Productions Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex; Emmy Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Katie Couric; two-time Golden Globe Award-nominated actress, model, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Brooke Shields; and author, sociologist, pop culture expert, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant at Peoplism Nancy Wang Yuen.’

South by Southwest, which is widely known as SXSW, is an annual festival that celebrates the convergence of technology, film, music, education and culture, and runs from March 8 to March 16. 

Meghan’s panel session is, according to the organizers, being presented by her and Harry’s Archewell Foundation in collaboration with The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom that reports on gender, politics, and policy. 

Meghan and Harry are understood to have arrived in Austin on Thursday – when they were spotted grabbing dinner at the city’s Soho House location in a sweet throwback to their first date, which was enjoyed at one of the private members’ club’s London venues. 

The happy couple were seen by onlookers, who told People that they seemed ‘happy and in great spirits’ during their dinner. 

‘Harry was very animated throughout the dinner. They were super low key and seemed happy to be around the upbeat vibes at the lively venue,’ the anonymous passerby told People.

The Sussexes’ night out came almost exactly eight years after they enjoyed their first rendezvous at Soho House in London, a night they enjoyed so much, they even returned the following day, when they are believed to have snapped some intimate black-and-white photo of themselves laughing together in a photobooth. 

Harry opened up about his first date with his wife in his bombshell memoir, Spare, admitting in the tome that he had actually arrived late at the venue, much to his horror. 

‘Red-cheeked, puffing, sweaty, half-an-hour late, I ran into the restaurant, into the quiet room, and found her sitting at a small area on a low velvet sofa in front of a low coffee table,’ he wrote, before going on to gush how ‘beautiful’ he thought Meghan was upon seeing her for the first time. 

‘I’d seen so many photos of her from fashion shoots and TV sets, all glam and glossy, but there she was, in the flesh, no frills, no filter… and even more beautiful,’ he said. 

Harry’s appearance at the festival came just one day after a judge ordered that the Department of Homeland Security hand over sensitive material about the Duke’s immigration papers so he can review them and decide whether to make them public.

The development came after a hearing at the court in Washington, D.C. last month in which Judge Carl Nichols heard from the DHS and the Heritage Foundation, which is seeking to release the material. 

The Heritage Foundation is seeking the release of the documents as part of a Freedom of Information request it filed last year following Harry’s confession in his memoir and in the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary that he had done drugs. 

His admission sparked questions about whether the Duke was entirely truthful on his immigration paperwork – which requires entrants into the US to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question: ‘Are you or have you ever been a drug abuser or addict?’ 

If the Duke did not tell the truth on his entry forms then he could be removed from the US or barred by a border agent. 

In the latest update, Judge Nichols told the DHS that its arguments so far were ‘insufficiently detailed’ for him to make a decision. 

He asked the agency, which oversees immigration, to give him declarations explaining the ‘particular harm’ that would arise from the disclosure of the Duke of Sussex’s visa application. 

Tina Fey and Busy Philipps followed the all-black, elegant dress code for the season three premiere of Girls5Eva, held Thursday at the Paris Theater in Midtown Manhattan.

The 53-year-old Mean Girls producer-actress serves as executive producer of Meredith Scardino’s critically acclaimed musical comedy about a one-hit wonder girl group from the 1990s, starring the 44-year-old Mean Girls actress.

Tina bared more skin than usual, showing off her arms in a button-up vest top, matching pants and pumps selected by stylist Cristina Ehrlich.

Hairstylist Matthew Monzon gave Fey’s signature brunette bob a serious swing, and makeup artist Genevieve Herr styled her kohl-rimmed eyes and bright pink pout.

The nine-time Emmy winner was joined on the purple carpet by her husband of 22 years – Jeff Richmond – who executive produced the music for Girls5Eva.

Tina originally started dating the 63-year-old composer in 1994, while they were working together at The Second City in Chicago.

Fey and Jeff are proud parents of 18-year-old daughter Alice Zenobia Richmond and 12-year-old daughter Penelope Athena Richmond.

Meanwhile, Busy (née Elizabeth) turned heads in a strapless feathered dress.

Philipps accessorized her pretty LBD with pink round earrings, black tights and matching ankle-strap heels, selected by stylist Karla Welch.

Hairstylist Matthew Monzon styled the Illinois-born funny woman’s pink curly bob and makeup artist Kindra Mann applied her glossy white eyeshadow and pink lipstick.

Busy reunited with the other three Girls5Eva girl group members – Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Paula Pell – to perform a song.

Philipps plays the wealthy character Summer Dutkowsky, the group’s self-proclaimed “hot one,” in the six-episode third season premiering March 14 on Netflix.

La V’s brand ambassador – who has 2.4 million Instagram followers – Installed a chaotic video of her unable to sit in the dress as she cruises in the Hummer limousine with her castmates: “Y’all, this is hilarious already.”

Two-time Grammy winner Sara Bareilles – who plays Dawn Solano – showed off her antique engagement ring while wearing a jumpsuit with glittering fringes and patent leather pumps.

The 44-year-old bride-to-be was joined on the purple carpet by her fiancé of 14 months, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters actor Joe Tippett.

Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry – who plays Wickie Roy – showed off her high-waisted bra and panties under a fishnet dress and peep-toe heels selected by stylist Sarah Slutsky Tooley.

Emmy-winning writer Paula Pell – who plays Gloria McManus – rocked a pair of platform sandals with her ruffled midi dress.

The 60-year-old former SNL writer has been joined since 2017 by her friend – Janine Brito – who serves as a producer, writer and plays Caroline in Girls5Eva.

Kelly Clarkson looked slim in a butter yellow leather dress with leopard print pumps her talk show on Wednesday.

The 41-year-old country singer had a slim waist and showed off sculpted arms after his loss 40 pounds.

The star was chatting to Millie Bobby Brown about her latest film Damsel.

The Stranger Things actress looked attractive as she showed off her white bra in a pink suit as she talked about how she’s 20 but feels 30, why she loves her ass and which pop star she’s a big fan of.

‘Today on Kelly! We’re putting @milliebobbybrown’s #Swiftie knowledge to the test and catching up with our friend @karamo PLUS a performance from @ajrbrothers!’ Kelly wrote in her Instagram caption.

“It’s definitely sad to say goodbye,” Brown says of filming the final season of Stranger Things, admitting she’s enjoying every last moment on set.

She also said she was a big fan of Taylor Swift. “I always know exactly where she is!” Millie said. She added that she only flew to Ohio to see the Eras Tour.

Brown then talked about her farm animals.

‘My donkey Bernard is like my best friend!’ Millie said adding that she loves being on a ranch.

And she said she’s grateful to have had so much success at 20, and that these days she feels more like she’s 30.

And in the latest Kellyoke, Clarkson and My Band Y’all perform a cover of Carrying Your Love with Me by George Strait.

Kelly’s career is doing better than ever.

Her latest album Chemistry is a hit and was nominated for a Grammy.

And her talk show earned six wins at the Daytime Emmy Awards, including outstanding daytime talk show and host for Clarkson.

Then there’s the Vegas residency, which has added more shows throughout the winter.

Earlier this year, Kelly revealed what she did to drastically lose weight this summer amid fan speculation that she was on Ozempic.

The pop star said inside her People magazine cover story that she has made two big changes to her lifestyle.

Firstly, the Since U Been Gone singer revealed that she decided to walk everywhere in her new home in New York City, which helped her get the exercise she needed.

Before Manhattan, she lived in Los Angeles, where she drove her car everywhere and limited her daily steps.

Secondly, The Voice star revealed that she decided to listen to her doctor and followed the advice to reduce carbs and put herself on a high-protein diet.

She told the publication that she enjoys strolling around her neighborhood and that taking the steps is great for her waistline.

Clarkson is also bringing along her children River Rose, nine, and son Remington Alexander, seven – father is her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.

‘We take the dogs for a walk in the park a few times. We’re going to have ice cream because my daughter is going to exhaust me. We’re going to make slime and go to the museum,” she said.

‘Walking in the city is quite a workout. And I’m really into infrared saunas right now. And I just got a cold dip because everyone was wearing me out,” Kelly added.

And what she puts on her plate is different.

‘I eat a healthy mix. I lost weight because I listened to my doctor – not for a few years,” the talk show host explained.

‘And 90 percent of the time I’m very good at it, because a protein diet is good for me anyway. I’m a Texas girl, so I love meat – sorry, vegetarians in the world!’

She looked much thinner in early fall when she returned to her talk show. The set was now in NYC and not LA. At the time, she said the weight change was due to “healthier choices.”

Since her sister Kate Middleton married Prince William, Pippa has been in the spotlight.

But over time, her fashion has evolved from royal bridesmaid to sophisticated style.

Always chic, today she is quite a fashion icon.

And with the perfect post-pregnancy figure to dress thanks to her love of sport and exercise, Pippa hasn’t been afraid to up the glamor with plunging necklines and sheer lace.

Elegant and ladylike, her style combines figure-hugging dresses, high heels and breathtaking Hollywood glamour, all used for maximum effect.

Like her equally stylish sister The Princess of Wales, Pippa shares a love of British labels Emilia Wickstead, Self Portrait and Temperley, plus Canadian designer Erdem, who lives in London.

A keen eye for style and an admirably toned body create a magical formula.

Red seen with green at the Heart Hero Awards

Pippa stepped out in December 2023, appearing at the Heart Hero Awards in a festive red and green ensemble.

She opted for cult dress brand Self Portrait and her evergreen lace dress gave her an hourglass silhouette thanks to the layered ruffles at the hem, puff sleeves and narrow waistband. The contrasting deep red Emmy pumps and clutch were a bold accessory choice, yet the perfect finishing touch.

Wedding beauty for Lady Gabriella Windsor

One area where Pippa has a lot of sartorial experience is dressing wedding guests and she showcased monochromatic dressing at Lady Gabriella Windsor’s wedding in 2019, wearing head-to-toe cornflower blue.

Her Kate Spade floral print dress with ruffles on the shoulders was perfectly paired with a matching velvet headband from Jess Collett, Emmy heels and clutch and sparkling blue Garrard earrings.

Beautiful in green with Eugenie

Just days before welcoming her first child, Pippa was stunning in green as she attended Princess Eugenie’s royal wedding in Windsor.

Based on style tips from her sister Kate, she chose a striking dress from Emilia Wickstead for the occasion that flared out over her stomach, with a large saucer hat from Jane Taylor London and a clutch and heels from Charlotte Olympia.

Broderie Anglaise – and a bump

It was Wimbledon white for Pippa as she showed off her growing baby bump in a summer broderie anglaise dress from Anna Mason.

To add some color to her ensemble, she wore a pair of Penelope Chilvers wedge espadrilles and a Panama hat with a matching blue band. Oversized Chanel sunglasses and a wicker J Crew clutch bag completed the look.

Max dropped out for Wimbledon

In Wimbledon style, Pippa opted for a tiered floral maxi dress from Maxmara, which flared with a peplum ruffle that accentuated her waist.

She added a pop of color with a Tory Burch bag that perfectly matched the flowers on her gown. Wedges from Sister Kate’s favorite store LK Bennett and ZanZan sunglasses completed the look.

Pure, but lady-like

Newlywed Pippa won in the fashion stakes at Wimbledon, wearing a ladylike take on the sheer dress.

Her Self Portrait dress was the perfect style risk thanks to the midi hemline and high collar, for a conservative silhouette that showed off her enviable figure through the sheer lace inserts.

She finished it off with neutral pumps, a gray suede clutch and oversized cat eye sunglasses from ZanZan.

Swedish style for a society wedding

Fresh from her honeymoon in Australia and French Polynesia, Pippa attended the wedding of Jöns Bartholdson and Anna Ridderstad in Stockholm.

She turned to one of Kate’s favorite designers and wore a ruffled and rose print Erdem dress.

The high-neckline, flared gown featured a contrasting waist and inserts that accentuated her slender body and matched her Wilbur and Gussie clutch.

Under the veil…

Her lace-covered dress looked stunning on her wedding day in 2017 and was created by British couturier Giles Deacon and, like her sister, had the same Grace Kelly aesthetic.

The high-neck, cap-sleeved fairy dress reportedly cost £40,000 and was appliquéd by hand to give the illusion of no seams.

Pippa accessorized her bridal outfit with a maidenhair fern tiara from Robinson Pelham, satin pumps with pearl details from Manolo Blahnik and a cathedral-length veil from British milliner Stephen Jones.

For her something old, she wore the same Robinson Pelham pearl earrings she wore for Kate’s wedding in 2011.

Sophisticated 50s look

Pippa and her then-fiancé James Matthews attended the ParaSnowBall fundraiser in 2017 and she chose a royal-worthy cocktail dress from Erdem for the event.

The sophisticated 1950s gown, adorned with jewels and crystals at the neckline, was accessorized with a statement pair of strappy Sandro sandals.

The Boss looks cool in pastel

Pippa stunned in a pastel Hugo Boss dress as she attended the launch of the first ParaSnowBall in 2015.

Showcasing her cleavage with a revealing neckline, the dress hugged the waist and flared into a pleated skirt, showing off her toned figure.

Temperley for a ball at Boodles

Pippa was knocked out in red while attending the annual charity Boodles Boxing Ball in 2011.

She wore a plunging Temperley London dress with corsage detail and paired the showstopper with her sister Kate’s Wilbur and Gussie clutch.

A silver stunner

When she stepped out for Arabella Musgrave and George Galliers-Pratt’s wedding in 2014, the Princess of Wales’ younger sister stunned in silver.

She wore a Suzannah coat over a lace dress from the same London designer, the 1950s silhouette clinging to her slim waist and flared with flattering cropped sleeves. The look was completed with a touch of feathers on her Edwina Ibbotson fascinator and Gucci pumps in contrasting black.

All eyes on bridesmaid Pippa

New son-in-law Pippa turned heads at Kate and William’s wedding with her figure-hugging Alexander McQueen bridesmaid dress, which captivated everyone watching the royal wedding.

Featuring a draped neckline, cap sleeves, cinched waist and 58 buttons at the back, the iconic figure-hugging dress caused a global stir when her derriere made headlines.

We’ve seen that somewhere…

Effortlessly elegant, Pippa turned heads when she arrived at the End of Summer Ball in 2008 in a halter neck maxi dress.

The Issa watercolor-inspired dress mirrored looks previously seen on Kate, showing how the pair are true style sisters.

Kieran Culkin And Pedro Pascal have referenced their “feud” several times during awards season, but what’s really going on?

The drama started when Culkin, 41, shouted out Pascal, 48, during his Golden Globes speech earlier this month as he accepted the trophy for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama for his role as Roman Roy in Succession.

“I was nominated for a Golden Globe 20 years ago, and when that moment passed, I remember thinking, ‘I’m never coming back into this room.’ That was fine, either way,” Culkin said on Jan. 7. ‘But thanks Succession, I’ve been here a few times. It’s nice, but I kind of accepted that I would never be on this stage, so this is a nice moment. Suck it, Pedro. Sorry. Mine!”

Pascal was nominated in the same category for his performance as Joel Miller in The last of us. After Culkin made his joke, the camera panned to Pascal, who pretended to cry over the dig.

Just over a week later, the men faced off for a second time at the Emmy Awards on January 15. This time Pascal had the upper hand in presenting Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. (Matthew Macfadyen took home the award for his role as Tom Wambsgans in Succession.)

“I’d like to take a moment to tell you this about me,” joked Pascal, whose right arm was in a sling, as he took the stage. “A lot of people have asked about my arm. It’s actually my shoulder, and I think tonight is a perfect time to tell everyone that Kieran Culkin is beating me.”

The crowd laughed as the camera panned to Culkin, who had a rather serious look on his face. Pascal also started laughing as he announced the nominees, and Culkin eventually broke into a smile.

After the Emmy Awards ended, Culkin and Pascal put any feud rumors to rest during the after-parties. The duo was photographed hanging out at the HBO and Max reception. Pascal even including a selfie with Culkin in his Jan. 16 photo review of the awards ceremony.

While Culkin didn’t actually have a physical altercation with Pascal, there isn’t much information about the nature of Pascal’s arm—er, shoulder—injury.

“I fell!” he told reporters on the Golden Globes red carpet. “Be careful. It can happen to anyone.”

Pascal and Culkin faced off again at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards in February, where they were both nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Pascal presented during the awards ceremony on February 24 emerged victorious from the battle and Culkin cheered his victory.

‘I’m going to kiss Kieran, that will be my revenge. I did know him [before this awards circuit]he is the greatest,” Pascal said in his speech after the victory, talking about their history with hosts Brown France. “I remember years and years ago, I took one of my siblings to FAO Schwarz… and he came up to me and complimented me on my work in this piece.”

He continued: ‘It was great to see him on this show and I feel guilty about not seeing his speech tonight, but he will be fine. But I have to give things a fair amount of balance.

Pascal continued the lovefest in a series of interviews after the SAG Awards, which were even telling Access to Hollywood that he voted for Culkin to win the trophy. “I should at least thank the male members of that cast for creating the opportunity to improve my grades, I guess,” Pascal said. “I voted for Kieran!”

The actor was unprepared to accept the SAG Award and revealed that he had been drinking because he thought he didn’t have to give a speech. But he told it Access that the party after the show wasn’t over yet. Pascal called himself and Culkin “besties” and said they planned to celebrate together at after-parties.

Selena Gomez has been famous for years, but that doesn’t mean that she and her boyfriend have never had an awkward encounter with a celebrity Benny Blanco was blamed for her most recent flu.

“Jason Segel happened to be at the Emmys, and he looked at me and started waving,” Gomez, 31, said as she played Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday, February 23.

Gomez got so excited that he recognized her because she is a fan of the actor. “This is a bit embarrassing. This is such a weird habit, but every night I fall asleep to the same show,” she revealed. ‘It will either be that way Friends or something comfortable. But lately it has been that way How I met your mother. So I fall asleep every night just watching the show and I’m a fan.

Gomez went on to say that when Segel, 44, waved, she immediately started waving back at the actor. “I was like, ‘Oh, hello!’” she recalled as she reenacted the incident.

As she greeted him from a distance, she said it was then clear that Segel wasn’t actually waving at her.

“I slowly realized he was waving at someone behind me and I thought, ‘Oh, God!’” she told the TV host Jimmy Kimmel as she covered her face and remembered the moment.

Gomez added that the encounter didn’t end there: it got worse. “He felt uncomfortable and then was tempted to come over,” she explained. “And then my boyfriend says, ‘Oh, she falls asleep with you every night.'”

Gomez was shocked by Blanco’s comment and told Kimmel, 56, that she didn’t know how to respond, so she decided to tell Segel the truth about her bedtime routine.

“I thought, ‘That’s weird!’ But I do!” she admitted, laughing at the experience.

Gomez and Blanco, 35, did not make their red carpet debut at the Emmy Awards last month, but were later seen together on the show.

The ‘Love On’ singer went public with Blanco in December 2023 and the two have been in love ever since.

A source said this exclusively in January We weekly that Gomez feels like she has never been with someone like Blanco in the past.

“Selena has made it clear that she wants Benny by her side from now on, and she is proudly introducing him to everyone in her life,” the insider revealed. “They kept it quiet [at first], but Benny passed every test with flying colors. The new year seemed like a perfect time to essentially scream [their love] from the rooftops, so that’s what Selena does.”

Meghan Markle once told a business consultant that she had “legs a mile long” and wanted to show them off as commercially as possible.

That’s not her only strong point, as last week’s photos from the Canadian ski resort Whistler showed again.

Don’t forget the all-American smile and careful dress sense, it’s Meghan’s hair that could be described as her ‘crowning glory’, even though the Duchess is no longer a working royal.

Admirers raved about the immaculately manicured auburn locks on display, including Meghan’s ‘hairdresser to the stars’, Kadi Lee of the Highbrow Hippie salon.

Color expert Lee revealed on Instagram that the Duchess’s new styling was thanks to a “mix of red and gold undertones” and “a next-level bold shine.”

If Meghan’s hair has been a lifelong obsession — as it is for many women — there’s one “secret” that hasn’t filtered through to social media until now.

That’s the moving role of her father, Thomas Markle, who told me he would sometimes get up at 5 a.m. to help his young daughter smooth her hair with a hair straightener so it looked exactly the way she wanted.

“If she wanted to straighten her hair, it would take her hours to get to school,” he recalls.

“But it was something I did voluntarily.”

Tom, 79, once made a living as an Emmy-winning lighting director in Hollywood, but turned to amateur hairdressing when Meghan came to live with him after the breakdown of his marriage.

The Duchess has not spoken to her father since he suffered two heart attacks on the eve of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 and was unable to walk her down the aisle.

Tom says he was shocked to discover that his daughter’s hair exposed Meghan to racism from an early age.

While on vacation, father and daughter were driving across the United States from their home in Los Angeles to Florida when they stopped in rural Texas and tried to find a salon to wash and straighten Meghan’s naturally curly hair.

“We tried several, but no one would take us in because I was a white man with a mixed-race child,” he said.

When Meghan became a teenager, she learned how to do her own hair and makeup – helped by spending time on set and in the studios with her lighting director father.

Tom recalls how Meghan studied and learned from the professionals who worked on popular American shows including General Hospital and Married with Children.

It was when she broke through as an actress and became a Hollywood star – most famous as ‘suitcase girl’ on the Deal Or No Deal show – that Meghan adopted the signature glossy look we recognize today, using specialist treatments to to smooth and strengthen. hair from damage.

As she explained in 2011, there is quite a bit of work and expense involved.

“My mother is black and my father is Dutch and Irish, so the texture of my hair is densely curled,” she said. ‘I’ve been suffering from Brazilian breakouts for a few years now.’

A Brazilian blowout is a semi-permanent strengthening treatment that uses keratin (an important protein in hair and nails) to penetrate the hair cuticle and smooth the hair shaft.

Results last up to four months, but some salons in Los Angeles charge more than £400 ($500) per treatment.

Described by her stylist as “a dynamic brunette,” Meghan’s latest hairstyle was shown off by skinny white jeans, a $675 (£530) white cashmere sweater and an off-white quilted coat when she last appeared for the cameras appeared. week.

The Duke and Duchess were in Canada to promote the next Invictus Games in a year’s time, hosted by Whistler.

The games were created for sick and injured soldiers and were founded by Prince Harry, who organized the first event in 2014. Next year the introduction of winter sports will take place for the first time.

During a visit to a training camp, the couple met athletes hoping to compete next year and the prince was pictured ‘ski-sitting’, joking: ‘do I have to sign a waiver?’

If Harry got the lead role, Meghan’s hair – praised for its new, reddish hue – took second place.

“This is the most beautiful hair I’ve ever looked like!” said one fan commenting on the Instagram page of LA-based Highbrow Hippie salon – a favorite of Julia Roberts.

“Absolutely beautiful,” said another. ‘So shiny and healthy. GOALS.’

Meghan still styles her own hair when necessary, often sweeping it back into a chic ‘ballerina bun’. It is also speculated that she uses high quality hair extensions to add length and volume on special occasions.

In this, as in many other matters, she has become quite an expert.

As one source put it, “Meghan can do her own hair and makeup at a professional level because, like anything she puts her mind to, she practiced and practiced until she was perfect.”

Period dramas can offer up a gripping mixture of tension, romance and intrigue. 

But with so many options across so many streaming services, where should you start?

Well, our critics have done the hard work for you by sifting through copies choices to bring you an unmissable selection of 30 options that will whisk you back in time to the excitement and emotion of long-past eras.

Our picks: 

The Essex Serpent

Clare Danes and Tom Hiddleston star in a powerful Gothic drama

Year: 2022

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Apple TV+

Is an Essex village really being haunted by a mysterious snake? That’s what Victorian widow Cora (Clare Danes) sets out to discover when she heads to the hamlet of Aldwinter to investigate strange tales of a serpent.

Together with the local pastor (Tom Hiddleston) she begins to dig into what has really been happening. When a tragedy strikes, though, the locals turn on her and accuse her of being the reason for the serpent’s return.

Adapted with dark flair from Sarah Perry’s novel, this series swirls with menace and understated passion. Danes and Hiddleston are fantastic in the central roles of a memorable and powerful Gothic drama. (Six episodes)

Death Comes To Pemberley

‘Sequel’ to Pride And Prejudice, starring Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin

Year: 2013

Certificate: 12

Watch now on Netflix

Two hundred years after the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, this thoroughly enjoyable three-part series continues the story six years after the book left off, but in a very different vein – that of a murder mystery.

Adapted from P.D. James’s ‘mash-up’ novel of 2011, this stars Anna Maxwell Martin and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, now happily married with a small son. As they prepare to throw a lavish annual ball in their magnificent Pemberley home, the contented couple suddenly find their lives thrown into disarray when a murder is committed on their estate. Rebecca Front and Trevor Eve also star, and Jenna Coleman is excellent in the tricky role of Elizabeth’s flighty sister, Lydia. (Three episodes)

The Gilded Age 

The gloves are off in the American Downton Abbey’s second outing

Year: 2023

Certificate: 15

Watch now on NOW

Watch now on Sky

In series one of Julian Fellowes’s transatlantic answer to Downton Abbey, we had a thorough introduction to the players in the struggle between old and new money in 1880s New York society. That struggle was still quite a genteel affair in those first nine episodes, but there’s a real sense the gloves are coming off in series two.

Bertha Russell (The Sinner’s Carrie Coon) is making no bones about splashing her nouveau riche cash on a big new opera house for the city, and the brash ambition of the woman is enough to curdle the milk in the aristocrats’ tea. And that’s to say nothing about the plans of Bertha’s businessman husband. The cheek of the man!

There’s also love on the horizon for shy Ada (Sex And The City’s Cynthia Nixon) and young Marian (Louisa Jacobson, Meryl Streep’s daughter), although both women are reliant on old school Agnes (The Good Fight’s Christine Baranski) for their positions. So, will the elder van Rhijn sister approve of either of their romantic choices? One thing’s for sure: we can expect many dryly amusing observations from Agnes along the way. If anyone fills the Maggie Smith/Dowager Countess role on this show, it’s her. (Nine episodes)

The Great

Outrageous historical comedy drama starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult

Year: 2020-

Certificate: 18

Watch now on Prime Video

Paying a glorious minimum of attention to historical fact, this darkly funny and frequently outrageous comedy drama charts the rise of Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) from reluctant bride of the barking and dangerous Peter III (Nicholas Hoult) to sole ruler of Russia.

Full of plots, schemes and raunchy comedy, it’s a fantastic Blackadder-esque confection of beautiful period costumes, slapstick and very black humour. The first two series saw Fanning and Hoult nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress/Actor in a Comedy Series at the Emmys and this third shows no dip in quality as the chirpy Catherine continues to plot to remove Peter from power and drag Russia kicking and screaming into the light of the 18th century. The Great is based on a play by Tony McNamara, who was also behind the similar 2018 movie The Favourite – and the very dissimilar Aussie medical romcom series The Heart Guy. (Three series, Lionsgate+ via Amazon Prime Video)

The Gallows Pole

Shane Meadows’s funny, earthy period drama

Year: 2023

Certificate: 15

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

This three-part drama from Shane Meadows (This Is England, The Virtues) takes a bit of getting used to, but once you settle into its style and rhythm it’s a real treat that turns all your expectations of period dramas upside down. Set in 18th-century Yorkshire, in the Calder Valley, it’s based on a true-crime story from the period, by way of the title novel by Benjamin Myers and Meadows’s own unique and playful vision. That playfulness starts with the title credits — Meadows is ‘Purvey’r of Scenes’, not director, and it’s all set to a soundtrack by Swedish psychedelic rockers and ‘Most Wonderous Troubadours’ Goat.

David Hartley (This Is England’s Michael Socha) returns home after seven years away to meet his destiny, bringing with him ‘diabolical visions’, a sack of loot and a life-threatening stab wound. It takes a while to get accustomed to the earthily authentic regional dialogue, but this comes into its own by the end of the first episode — during a biting and bitter verbal sparring match between David and his old flame Grace (Downton’s Sophie McShera). You won’t expect to, but you’ll be rolling with laughter by the time you reach episode two. (Three episodes)

A full-blooded prequel telling the story of how Charlotte married the king

Year: 2023

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Netflix

Golda Rosheuvel’s performance as the formidable, fearsome and ever-so-slightly tragic Queen Charlotte is one of the scene-stealing highlights of sexed-up period romance Bridgerton. No character from the show deserves a series of her own more than she does, making this six-episode retelling of just how she came to marry George III and her struggles with the aristocracy of the day a genuine treat.

India Amarteifio is perfect casting as the young Charlotte, all swagger and confidence as she arrives to marry a man she’s never met, but watch out too for assorted younger versions of various figures from the original how, not least Arsema Thomas as the young Lady Danbury. (Six episodes)

Lady Chatterley

Joely Richardson and Sean Bean star as DH Lawrence’s lovers

Year: 1993

Certificate: 15

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

Director Ken Russell has form with the works of DH Lawrence. His 1969 adaptation of Women In Love won Glenda Jackson the Best Actress Oscar. He directs this four-part adaptation of Lawrence’s most famous novel, starring Joely Richardson as the Lady, with Sean Bean as Mellors, the earthy groundsman who provides her comfort after her husband returns from the war, wounded, and with no interest in intimacy.

Some critics found it a bit too ‘sudsy’, but there’s no faulting the performances of Richardson and Bean, both perfectly cast and bold rather than brazen in their performances.

You’ll find it hard to track down an adaptation of this famously steamy novel that makes the sexual chemistry truly sizzle, and there have been plenty of them. See Holliday Grainger and Richard Madden’s 2015 BBC miniseries or Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell, whose 2022 adaptation for Netflix saw the return of Joely Richardson – playing Sir Chatterley’s nurse, in place of his wife. (Four episodes)

Poldark

Exhilarating historical swashbuckler set amid the stunning Cornish landscape

Year: 2015-2019

Certificate: 12

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

A historical crowd-pleaser that celebrates the land – stunning late-18th-century Cornish landscapes, to be precise – and a hard day’s work, while swashing, buckling and soaring with romance, heartache and intrigue.

Based on Winston Graham’s series of historical novels, this second of two TV adaptations (after the much-loved 1975 series with Robin Ellis) stars Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark, returning from the American War of Independence to find his world in ruins. With barely a bead of sweat tickling his brow or oft-naked torso, Poldark toils to rebuild his fortune, right wrongs and reunite with his true love – despite her being engaged to someone else.

The ensemble cast also includes Eleanor Tomlinson (The Outlaws) as the heroic Demelza, Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs) as tormented George Warleggan and Beatie Edney (Highlander) as loyal servant Prudie Paynter. (Five series)

The Buccaneers

Fans of Bridgerton should enjoy this vibrant Edith Wharton adaptation

Year: 2023

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Apple TV+

Apple may have found its Bridgerton with this vibrant, well-cast and visually sumptuous tale of rich American girls being married to cash-poor British lords in the 1870s. It’s based on an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton that has only been adapted once before – by the BBC, in 1995 – and the story has a nice mix of light and shade, shot through with occasional belts of modern music to match the spirit of the girls. Their vibrancy collides with the stuffy British establishment and the mix of hope, romance and poignancy that follows is the meat of the story.

The cast is first-rate, especially Looking For Alaska’s Kristine Froseth as the clever Nan, who is forever accidentally overshadowing her more traditionally attractive sister. Another standout is Guy Remmers as Theo, the grumpy but soulful Duke of Tintagel, who despairs of the debutante season and would rather spend his time painting on the beach. The series itself has a complicated web of friendships and relationships that will keep you compelled from one episode to the next, and then there are all the costumes and big houses of course – no one could accuse Apple of skimping on those here. (Eight episodes)

Middlemarch

BAFTA-winning adaptation of George Eliot’s classic novel starring Juliet Aubrey and Rufus Sewell

Year: 1994

Certificate: PG

Watch now on UKTV Play

Andrew Davies’ adaptation of George Eliot’s novel was first shown on the BBC in 1994, so that’s a very young Rufus Sewell as Will Ladislaw, a much more suitable intellectual match for unfulfilled Dorothea Brooke (Juliet Aubrey, who won a BAFTA for her performance) than her much older husband.

It’s a compelling story of romance and empowerment that also takes in political and social reform without – as was Eliot’s genius – ever feeling preachy or sanctimonious. Douglas Hodge and Robert Hardy also star, with a voiceover by Judi Dench. (Six episodes)

Sanditon

Hit period romance based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel

Year: 2019-2023

Certificate: 12

Watch on ITVX

As with all things Austen, this show earned a large and vocal global fanbase which – via the ‘Sanditon Sisterhood’ – helped to get it uncancelled when ITV ditched the show after its first series.

Based on Jane Austen’s unfinished 1817 novel, it channels the spirit of Regency and Victorian writers, not just Austen, but there’s a dash of the Brontes at play, too – especially when, in series two, heroine Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) becomes governess to Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), a brooding widower in the vein of Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester.

For historical romance buffs this is a must, and the third and final season wraps things up nicely – though that might not stop the Sanditon Sisterhood launching a new campaign. (Three series)

Downton Abbey

Julian Fellowes’s brilliant upstairs-downstairs tale

Year: 2010-2015

Certificate: 12

Watch now on Netflix

Watch now on Prime Video

Like Upstairs, Downstairs before it, Julian Fellowes’s tale of life at a Yorkshire country estate has become one of British television’s great exports.

The series was inspired by Fellowes’ script for the excellent film Gosford Park, and follows the story of the aristocratic Crawley family. It begins in superbly understated style in 1912, with a newspaper being ironed, the sinking of the Titanic and the sudden need for a male heir to carry on the line of the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). Step forward distant cousin Matthew Crawley (breakout star Dan Stevens), and a 52-episode strong run of drama above and below stairs followed.

It could be soapy at times but Downton always looked fabulous, and was simply packed with excellent actors – towering above them all was Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, the wonderfully pithy Dowager Countess. Violet’s spirit lives on in the performance of Christine Baranski as old-money doyenne Agnes van Rhijn in The Gilded Age, Fellowes’s American follow-up to Downton. (Six series)

Wuthering Heights

Dark and moody adaptation of Emily Bronte’s novel with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley

Year: 2009

Certificate: 15

Watch on ITVX

If you’ve read the novel by Emily Brontë, you’ll know that most TV adaptations and films largely dispense with the novel’s miserable second half, focusing on the romance between Catherine and her foster brother Heathcliff, and not the anger, cruelty and resentment that the last part of the book descends into. Catherine and especially Heathcliff also get softened and made more sympathetic.

This version, starring Charlotte Riley and her future husband Tom Hardy as the doomed lovers, digs a little deeper, and how you feel about it will depend on how you engage with the two leads. Hardy definitely puts the brute into Heathcliff and there is a darkness here that isn’t just from the fog on the moors. There’s also an attempt to capture the three-generation sweep of the novel and of the corrupting force of love turned to a bitter, twisted obsession. (Two episodes)

The Devil’s Whore

Recent Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough heads up a quality Civil War adventure

Year: 2008

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Channel 4

Not a satanic Hammer horror film as the title might suggest, but a quality English Civil War drama with a killer cast. All porcelain face, rouge and corsets, Andrea Riseborough is Angelica Fanshawe, a noblewoman through whom a battle for the soul of England plays out.

Angelica is not a noblewoman for long and, as England descends into bloody civil war, she is cast out, with the scandalous reputation of the title. Riseborough brings an iron lady grit to a series that matches lofty historical storytelling with gripping entertainment. (One series, plus follow-up series New Worlds)

Indian Summers

Sex, snobbery and colonial intrigue in 1930s India

Year: 2015-2016

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Channel 4

Set in 1932 in the foothills of the Himalayas, this epic drama follows the fortunes of the British expats and their Indian hosts, played out against a backdrop of political tension and power struggles, sex and snobbery, family feuds and rampant racism.

The main reason to watch is Julie Walters’s performance as Cynthia Coffin, the queen bee of the exclusive Royal Simla Club, a home from home for the British Raj. The show was recommissioned for a second series after becoming the most successful drama launch on Channel 4 for 20 years.

The Royal Simla Club is actually the Crag Hotel in Malaysia, which had been derelict since the film Indochine was shot there in the early 90s. It took three months for the production team to bring it back to life. (Two series)

Lark Rise To Candleford

Coming of age for a 19th-century girl working as a country postmistress

Year: 2008-2011

Certificate: 12

Watch now on UKTV Play

Flora Thompson’s charmingly nostalgic memoirs of her idyllic childhood in rural Oxfordshire in the late 19th century (published as a trilogy from 1939), were brought to the screen in four series of this well-appointed, genteel period drama.

We follow country girl Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan) as she leaves the hamlet of Lark Rise to work in the post office in the market town of Candleford, under the wing of her bubbly cousin, the postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha).

The pair are soon best friends, facing life’s ups and downs in a world of contrasts – rich and poor, town and country, old and new. Filmed on a specially built and rather stunning set, this is a whimsical portrait of a long-lost England, awash with charm and colour – and it feels a long way from the murky shades of grey that mark the visual style of more recent period dramas. Liz Smith, Linda Bassett, Dawn French and Olivia Grant also star. (Four series)

Tom Jones

A reimagined look at the life of a foundling young man as he makes his way in the world

Year: 2023

Watch on ITVX

Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel (the full title – The History Of Tom Jones, A Foundling – helps avoid any confusion with a certain Welsh singer) is an epic at 700-plus pages, but is a veritable romp and highly regarded as an early novel.

At the time it raised eyebrows for its wilful handling of sex and promiscuity but it’s this wild, romantic character that led Gwyneth Hughes, who wrote this four-part adaptation, to describe it as ‘the mother of all romcoms’.

Raised as a bastard by the wealthy Squire Allworthy, young Thomas is a lusty sort. But for all his bedhopping he’s also decent, devoted and honest and it’s the love of a good woman that tames him and makes him a better man.

Solly McLeod, a rising star who most recently appeared in House Of The Dragon, plays Tom, with You Don’t Know Me’s Sophie Wilde as his true love Sophia. There’s also a superb cast of veterans playing the adults in the room – including James Fleet (The Vicar Of Dibley) as Tom’s guardian Squire Allworthy and Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as one of Tom’s more devious and experienced lovers. (Four episodes)

Marie Antoinette

Ravishingly modern take on the doomed Queen of France

Year: 2022

Certificate: 12

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

There’s no sugar-coating in this eight-part biographical drama about the Queen of France. As an immature 14-year-old who stamps her feet, Austrian Archduchess Maria Antonia (a riveting performance from German actress Emilia Schule) is married to the future King (Louis Cunningham) and expected to quickly produce an heir – even though she has no idea what that involves.

It’s created by Deborah Davis, the BAFTA-winning writer of The Favourite, but it’s not quite as strange and surreal as that black comedy movie set in the court of our own Queen Anne. It looks absolutely ravishing and boasts a spiky modern soundtrack, but the emphasis is on the cruelty of a woman trapped by duty, and the boorishness of the royal classes – with James Purefoy both regal and exasperated as King Louis XV and British newcomer Louis Cunningham as the Dauphin, Marie’s naïve and detached new husband. (One series)

The Borgias

Neil Jordan’s sexy take on one of history’s most notorious families

Year: 2011-2013

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Paramount+

Sexy, lavish and slightly soapy, this historical fiction drama created by Neil Jordan takes us deep into the conniving world of the papal family of the title. This ambitious family are happy to use everything in their arsenal from bribery to murder as part of their relentless quest for wealth and power.

It stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI and Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia, the favourite of his children, but whose love life is a disaster – her husband and lover are both murdered, while her feelings towards her brother Cesare (Francois Arnaud) are unnatural. There are three glorious series to get your teeth into, although a planned fourth was canned due to the expense of the series. (Three series)

Bridgerton

Racy Regency romp that reinvented the period drama genre

Year: 2020

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Netflix

Based on the books by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton is set during the swirl of the London social season in 1813, going from ball to ball as the capital’s eligible young men and women circle each other in a high-stakes game of matchmaking.

At the centre of this are Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings (Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page), and watching over it all is unseen gossip queen Lady Whistledown (voiced by the great Julie Andrews), whose biting narration accompanies every romantic twist.

It’s worth watching if you like the spectacle of the dresses and balls of period dramas, but aren’t overly beholden to the genre’s traditions, because this raunchy show is determined to push them.

It’s produced by US TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes (Scandal), and occasionally feels more like Gossip Girl than Pride & Prejudice. The first series reinvented the period drama genre, ramping up the excessiveness of the clothes, the houses, the romance and – yes, yes, YES – the sex. No wonder it became Netflix’s biggest hit ever, with 82 million households tuning in the first few weeks alone. (Two series)

Versailles

Lavish and racy drama set in the court of French king Louis XIV

Year: 2015-2018

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Britbox

‘A king without a castle is no king at all.’ This lavish drama opens in 1667, as Louis XIV (George Blagden), then 28, is finally freed from the control of the council of ministers that had governed France for him and is determined to find a suitably fine property in which to live and rule.

The story is kicked into high gear when Louis asserts his newfound authority, and wrongfoots his enemies by shifting his seat of power to a magnificent hunting lodge at Versailles, where much of the action takes place.

The drama at his scheming court is compelling, and as you’d expect from a French series, there are a lot of saucy scenes, so this should hit the spot nicely if you were a fan of The Tudors. The most expensive French television series of all time, its co-writer and producer is Simon Mirren, nephew of Oscar-winner Dame Helen. (Three series)

Dangerous Liaisons

Adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic 18th-century novel

Year: 2022

Certificate: 18

Watch now on Prime Video

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s deliciously cruel novel about sex, seduction and power in 18th Century Paris has already been made into at least two movies, not to mention inspiring the brilliant modern-day version in 1999, Cruel Intentions.

Now this prequel series charts the early lives of its lead characters, the fabulously amoral and power-hungry Valmont and Merteuil (played by John Malkovich and Glenn Close in the Oscar-winning 1988 movie). Full of beautiful costumes, steamy scheming and Machiavellian plotting, it’s a heady eight-part series with a killer cast: Alice Englert and Nicholas Denton are superb as Merteuil and Valmont, but look out too for Lesley Manville, Paloma Faith and Game Of Thrones’ Carice van Houten. (One series, via Lionsgate+)

Little Dorrit

Adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story of love and debt

Year: 2008

Certificate: 12

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

Claire Foy hit the big time in The Crown, playing the young Queen Elizabeth, but this was the role that kick-started her TV career. Written by that master of the literary adaptation Andrew Davies (see also Bleak House, War & Peace and many more), this 14-part miniseries of the Dickens classic delivered on its, er, great expectations. The performances are especially good, even accounting for the exaggerated characterisations that Dickens is known for, with Matthew Macfadyen and Russell Tovey as the love interests of Foy’s Amy Dorrit.

Amy was raised in a debtors’ prison, with money coming and going, slipping like water through the fingers of folk like the Dorrits. The satire and critique of the system was personal for Dickens, whose father was once a resident of London’s Marshalsea Prison – where the Dorrits also find themselves – for debt. (14 episodes)

Miss Scarlet And The Duke

Chalk ‘n’ cheese detective duo solving crimes in Victorian London

Year: 2020-

Certificate: PG

Watch now on Sky

Watch now on NOW

‘A lady should always act like a lady,’ says Miss Scarlet in a lively and funny chalk ‘n’ cheese detective series set in 1880s London. When she’s not keeping up her image as one of the gentry, Eliza (Peaky Blinders’ Kate Phillips) solves crime with her own agency and, occasionally, the help of a boozy police officer – William ‘The Duke’ Wellington, hence the title – who is played by Jamestown’s Stuart Martin.

They become awkward allies and potentially something more across this engaging series, which keeps the will-they-won’t-they element bubbling along in the background of satisfying mysteries peppered with fun characters. Look out for Kevin Eldon as a nosy reporter in series one, episode four, and, in the third series, Oliver Chris as the hilariously unscrupulous reporter Basil Sinclaire. The latest fourth series begins with a burglary at a high-end brothel whose clients include important members of the British government. (Four series)

The Sally Lockhart Mysteries

Billie Piper’s plucky Victorian heroine tackles intriguing riddles…

Year: 2006

Certificate: 15

Watch now on UKTV Play

Sally Lockhart blows away the cobwebs that often covered the Victorian lady. She’s a woman who is brave and bold, intelligent and adventurous – and not about to let her petticoats hold her back. Created by His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman, our headstrong young heroine is reeling from the death of her father when we first meet her in The Ruby In The Smoke.

Sally is propelled through her grief by a mystery buried in her own past, as well as the search for a ruby which brings her into contact with friends (including JJ Feild’s dashing photographer and Hayley Atwell as his actress sister) and foes (Julie Walters’ sinister Mrs Holland). With a superb cast, which also includes the debut screen role of future Doctor Who Matt Smith, these atmospheric mysteries, based on the first two of Pullman’s four Sally Lockhart novels, have something for everyone – a well-dressed mystery with a dash of romance and a compelling and totally unique heroine. (Two feature-length episodes)

Daniel Deronda

Period drama about a young man torn between two women

Year: 2002

Certificate: PG

Watch now on UKTV Play

George Eliot’s ambitious final novel is adapted by prolific screenwriter Andrew Davies (War & Peace, Sanditon). Hugh Dancy stars as the title character, a gentleman of unknown lineage who searches for meaning in his life and finds himself torn between two women.

Downton’s Hugh Bonneville, unusually, plays it wicked as the cold and cruel aristocrat Henleigh Grandcourt, who marries Romola Garai’s Gwendolen with the intention of making her his ‘perfect wife’. But Gwendolen has married for financial security and is not as compliant as her arrogant husband would like. Daniel, meanwhile, helps poor Jewish singer Mirah (Jodhi May) who has fallen on desperate times.

There is much more to this story, though, than what tugs at Daniel or Gwendolen’s heartstrings and Davies’s three-part adaptation does a decent job of bringing that to life. (Three episodes)

Flowers In The Attic: The Origin

How dark secrets shaped the Foxworth family from the very beginning

Year: 2022

Certificate: 15

Watch now on Paramount+

The original tale of incest, imprisonment, murder and deep dark secrets spun by the novel Flowers In The Attic has twice been committed to film so far, in 1987 with Louise Fletcher and Kristy Swanson, and then again in 2014 with Ellen Burstyn and Heather Graham.

Now it earns its own four-part prequel mini-series, which digs into the distressing history of the Foxworth family and the relationships that set them on a course for tragedy and disaster. It’s hot and heady stuff shot full of forbidden lustful glances between family members and hints at the madness to come.

Guest appearances by the likes of Kelsey Grammer pepper proceedings but the heavy dramatic lifting is mostly done by the excellent Max Irons and Jemima Rooper as the ill-fated Malcolm and Olivia. (Four episodes)

Lions Of Sicily

Italian drama centring on a family’s business empire on the rise in the early 19th century

Year: 2023

Watch now on Disney+

Prepare for blazing sun and blazing passions in equal measure as this eight-part Italian period drama spins the story of the Italian merchant dynasty the Florios who are battling to turn a small family business into a globe-spanning empire.

It all starts in the early 1800s as brothers Paolo and Ignazio open a small spice business on the island of Sicily, but it really kicks into gear as the industrial age dawns and the family’s young lion Vincenzo sets his sights on both wealth and the hand of a rebellious young woman named Giulia. It’s stirring stuff based on the internationally bestselling novel by Stefania Auci and crammed with fraught drama and heady romance. (Eight episodes)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio adapts DH Lawrence’s classic novel

Year: 2015

Certificate: 15

Watch now on UKTV Play

Screen adaptations of DH Lawrence’s notorious 1928 novel are guaranteed to attract attention. But the book’s reputation shouldn’t detract from its emotionally charged story. It is not only focused on rugged language and clandestine romps, but also fused with the everyday impact of the once-insurmountable class divide.

The first British adaptation of the novel in 22 years when it was first released, this film directed by Jed Mercurio (Line Of Duty) stars Holliday Grainger as Lady Constance Chatterley, radiant with often flushed cheeks, and Richard Madden as her coarse but devoted groundsman lover. Bookended by a hurried start and finish, the middle section flourishes, much like their raw, strange and beautiful romance. (89 mins)