The Duchess of Sussex’s acting career has been mocked in new skits depicting Meghan shared by satirical TV programme Spitting Image.
The clips, posted by the show’s producers on YouTube and TikTok, have her puppet performing various audition scenes for iconic roles such as Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle character in 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
She is seen introducing herself for the camera as ‘Meghan Sussex’ and also delivering versions of famous lines from films such as Jaws and Taken.
The spoof comes after it was revealed former TV series Suits star Meghan was returning to acting after an eight-year hiatus to be in the Amazon MGM Studios film Close Personal Friends.
Lines performed by the Spitting Image version include a Taxi Driver take-off in which she starts to replicate De Niro’s ‘You talking to me?’ soliloquy – but newly adds: ‘Not without securing an exclusive deal with my publicist.’
In a twist on a line from Jaws, ‘We’re going to need a bigger boat’, the Meghan puppet – wielding a fishing rod – instead says: ‘We’re going to need a bigger house.’
And the version of a phone threat by Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson in 2008 action movie Taken has Meghan’s character declaring: ‘What I do have is a very particular set of skills – skills I have acquired over a very long period of career.’
She then hesitates over what these skills might be, eventually adding: ‘Just give me a sec. Writing stuff on bananas?’
The puppet is also shown telling her husband: ‘I swear to God, Harry – ruin my take again and I will end you.’
The real-life Meghan was spotted filming in Pasadena, California, earlier this month – with insiders telling how she was ‘genuinely excited’ but joked she felt ‘a bit rusty’.
She is set to appear alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid – son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid – as well as British actor Henry Golding.
Meghan starred as Rachel Zane in legal drama Suits from 2011 to 2018 before quitting Hollywood when she married Prince Harry to briefly become a working royal.
The couple announced in 2020 they were stepping back from frontline royal duties and moving to the US, where they now live in the Californian town of Montecito.
Her last acting role had been in low budget TV movie Dater’s Handbook for the Hallmark Channel in 2016.
Meghan, 44, last month made a surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week on her first trip to Europe since the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany.
She was seen at a show for luxury fashion line Balenciaga, mingling with fellow guests including Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour, actress Anne Hathaway and film director Baz Luhrmann, with whom she exchanged a kiss.
Her Instagram page later shared a clip showing her travelling along the Seine, with her feet lifted up and legs crossed while sitting in the car – shared to her 4.2million followers on Instagram overnight.
That prompted some criticism since the journey was close to the Paris tunnel where her husband Prince Harry’s mother Princess Diana died in a car crash in August 1997.
The Duchess also took to Instagram this past Saturday to share a brief clip of herself assembling gifts as she continues to tout her As Ever Christmas range, which includes a $64 (£48) candle, champagne and a mulled spice kit.
In the short video filmed of Meghan dressed in a sleek silk brown dress, she was seen popping a present into a grey stocking which hung from her mantlepiece, before clasping her hands together and smiling.
It was marked by similarly neutral earthy tones throughout all the interiors in the room, appearing matching the understated light green hues of the fir decor around – although carefully placed fairy lights sparkled throughout.
‘Oh, we see you!’ the caption read. ‘Not even Thanksgiving yet and you’ve already got this in the bag.’
Yet some fans appeared disappointed by the glossy promotion, claiming it lacked festivity and featured only ‘bland, boring browns’, rather than the typically bright holiday period fanfare.
There has also been a recent backlash against the 2020s revamp of Spitting Image, which originally ran on ITV between 1984 and 1996.
It featured puppets created by a team led by Peter Fluck and Roger Law, with voices provided by the likes of Harry Enfield, Steve Coogan, Chris Barrie and Kate Robbins.
Steve Nallon performed as Margaret Thatcher, while also playing other regular characters such as the Queen Mother and ex-Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley.
The show was resurrected in 2020, on internet streaming service Britbox, though was cancelled in 2022 – before returning this year on YouTube.
It was revealed last month that the producers of Paddington Bear films are suing Spitting Image over its foul-mouthed parody of the children’s books and TV character.
The satirical show has been portraying Paddington deranged cocaine-sniffing creature, in scenes in which he appears alongside a Prince Harry puppet.
In a sketch for the new YouTube series, named Spitting Image: The Rest Is B*******, Paddington and Prince Harry have been cast as podcast co-hosts.
The red-eyed bear, speaking in a mock South American accent, was seen telling of enjoying ‘100 per cent Peruvian, biodynamic, organic, catastrophic cocaine’ – adding: ‘I am from Peru, motherf*****. I am Paddington Bear from Peru.’
StudioCanal, producers of the hit Paddington movies, are suing British production company Avalon, who are behind the Spitting Image takes.
They have filed a High Court complaint over the sketch, while documents show they have raised copyright concerns, Deadline reported.
The episode also sparked outrage among Paddington fans, who claimed the marmalade-loving children’s character had been ‘disrespected’.
The Paddington parody shows him interviewing Elon Musk and advertising robotic sex dolls and guns.
He also refers to himself as Pablo Esco-bear, saying: ‘You most likely remember me from the films Paddington, Paddington 2 and Paddington in Peru.
‘I also had a starring role in the Netflix series Narcos, as Pablo Esco-bear. It is a joke. Laugh, muchachos,’ he said.
The episode ends with the bear snorting white powder before appearing to lose consciousness.
Prince Harry was also parodied and portrayed as the co-host – with his puppet saying: ‘I’m here to tell my truth and make a s*** ton of money out of podcasting as I don’t have any discernible talent.’
Other public figures portrayed in the show since it returned to screens in September have included Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, as well as politicians such as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his former deputy Angela Rayner.
And King Charles has been depicted as refusing a greasy burger offered to him by a bib-wearing Donald Trump.
A synopsis for the latest 12-part series reads: ‘The (latex) gloves are off and it’s not pulling any punches.
‘This isn’t just satire. It’s a no holds barred up-to-the-minute assault on the world of politics, pop culture and media control.
‘From The White House to Windsor, from Putin to Paddington via Silicon Valley – it’s fearless, it’s as disgusting as the real people and it’s as hard-hitting as you remember – ideal entertainment for anyone with a 21st century attention span.’
