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Meghan Markle’s former Suits co-stars have extended an invitation to their former colleague, to appear on their new podcast in which they rewatch the show.

Before the 43-year-old married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex, she was known for her role as paralegal Rachel Zane on the legal drama.

Last year the popular series made its debut on Netflix, and gained a new onslaught of fans along with a record 26.5 billion minutes watched in just eight weeks.

Markle starred on the show for seven seasons, before her exit shortly after her engagement announcement. Her final episode saw her character finally tie the knot with Mike Ross, played by Patrick J Adams.

Adams and Sarah Rafferty (who played Donna Paulsen on the series) will rewatch the show for the first time on Sirius XM’s Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast. They expect to recap episodes and share their personal experiences from filming the series.

They have also revealed they will interview fell cast members including Gina Torres who played Jessica Pearson and the programme’s showrunner Aaron Korsh.

“Everybody’s invited, and everybody has been so supportive,” Rafferty told Entertainment Weekly when asked if the Duchess of Sussex has been called in as a guest.

“It’s amazing. I’ve just been texting one of our directors, Mike Smith, Rachael Harris had some comments on our Instagram Live this morning, cannot wait for Sheila Sazs to be introduced into the show. I can’t wait to talk to Max Beesley and all the British actors that we had.”

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Rafferty said she is most excited about the prospect of bringing on voices from behind the scenes of the show, including wardrobe, set design, and more.

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“Everybody’s a storyteller from a different angle, and it takes so many people to make a show,” she said. “I think that that’s really fascinating. There’s so many conversations to be had, like, ‘How did you choose that song?’ All that stuff.”

Markle reacted to the renewed love for the programme during a red carpet interview at Variety’s Power of Women event in November last year.

“Is that right?” Markle asked in amazement at the “wild” figure, which had reached 45 billion minutes at the time. “But who’s counting?” she quipped.

The Duchess admitted that she had “no idea” what was causing the show’s recent uptick in popularity.

“It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew. We had such a fun time. I was on it for seven seasons – so quite a bit,” she said.

BIG Brother star Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace didn’t hold back while talking about new contestant Lily.

Hailing from Warrington, Lily, 20, is a Chinese takeaway server, but her lively personality and ‘screeching’ has quickly hit a nerve with fans and Aisleyne alike.

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Here, our BB columnist reveals why she thinks Lily is playing a game and that she’s ‘copying the late Nikki Grahame,’ who famously starred on series seven of Big Brother with Aisleyne.

I told you. I called it. I knew Lily was going to be loud and doing the most and trying to get the most attention.

And that’s exactly what she’s doing on the second night of Big Brother in the storage cupboard.

It’s annoying – can someone please take her batteries out because it’s doing my head in. She’s doing my head in.

She is doing the most trying to get the most attention and being so loud.

I even think sometimes she’s trying to be like my Nikki, and there’s only one Nikki, God rest her soul.

You could never be Nikki.

Why do people do that? Don’t try and be someone else, just be yourself.

Anyway, that said, she’s annoying.

I liked her little rant in the diary room, she was quite entertaining in the diary room not going to lie.

But as a housemate, watching that for six weeks? Drop me out. She’s so annoying. She’s got to go.

But that said, I’m loving all the housemates, even the annoying ones.

Big Brother 2024 cast

A brand new batch of Big Brother housemates are living it up in the famous compound.

Meet the cast of the 2024 series:

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• Rosie, 29, dental assistant from Cornwall.
• Emma, 53, aesthetics business owner from Altrincham.
• Segun, 25, charity videographer from Watford.
• Nathan, 24, pork salesman from Dumfries.
• Daze, 24, climate activist from London.
• Khaled, 23, sales manager from Manchester.
• Martha, 26, NHS administrator from Scarborough.
• Lily, 20, Chinese takeaway server from Warrington.
• Ali, 30, Forensic psychologist from London.
• Thomas, 20 amputee footballer from Carlisle.
• Ryan, 28, marketing and events from Stockport.
• Hannah, 24, HR consultant from West London.
• Izaaz, 29, sales consultant from London.
• Sarah, 27, spa account manager from Shrewsbury.
• Marcello, 34, youth mentor from East London.
• Dean, 35, barber from East London

Sarah needs to get a grip

Sarah – the posh contestant is how I remember her – she is giving me so much jokes.

How are you having a breakdown on the first night? She’s sobbing.

Honey, I don’t know – do you need a tissue? A hug? Babe, you can’t cope after one night then how about trying ten weeks.

I did ten weeks in there and you’re going to do six potentially and you’re crying and having a breakdown on the first night

I can understand why she’s getting upset about Lily, because that is a lot, but crying come on now, you’re on Big Brother.

I want to see more strength from her, so come on tomorrow you can pull it out the bag.

Ali is fast becoming my favourite – and Ryan needs to go

I’ve told you Ali is the one to watch guys, and she’s fast becoming my favourite.

You’ll have seen last night that she had to choose who was lying and she was right because she said both of them were.

She ended up sending Ryan to the storage, and to be honest guys he’s a bit bland for me.

He didn’t know how to lie and it was just a bit boring and bland.

I really can’t see him going that far in the game, I’m sorry to say it but I really can’t.

I think he might be the first to go.

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow with all of the Big Brother latest so watch this space…

Big Brother will air daily at 9pm on ITV2 and it will be followed each night by Big Brother: Late & Live – giving viewers additional exclusive content.

The Live Stream is also making a comeback, airing seven nights a week on ITVX.

This series of BB will be co-hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best.

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Much-loved British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous almost never made it to air because of one reason TV bosses think it couldn’t work.

The show followed the antics of self-absorbed best friends PR Edina “Eddie” Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) as they try to stay relevant in the fast-paced fashion world, consuming vast quantities of Bollinger champagne as they go.

In their first reunion since Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie was released in 2016, the cast looked back at the show for a special one-off episode. In Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out, the creators and actors behind the series shared secrets and anecdotes from filming.

The sitcom’s producer John Plowman revealed that the programme almost never made it to air.

“We do the pilot and I see Robin Nash, Who was the then head of comedy [at the BBC] and I said, ‘What do you think?’” he explained.

“And he said, ‘I’ve never found women being drunk very funny.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s it, it’s over.’”

However, the show was saved by the reactions of audiences.

“But we did it in the evening,” Plowman continued. “The audience was wonderful and my most binding memory was at the end of it I saw Ben Elton [comedian] and he said, ‘Well, I’ve seen the future of comedy and it’s that.’”

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Saunders and Lumley will also be joined by castmates Julia Sawalha (who played Edina’s long-suffering daughter Saffy) and Jane Horrocks (who starred as personal assistant Bubble) in the documentary.

“I loved making Ab Fab but I can’t remember a great deal, so much of this retrospective is a revelation to me,” joked 65-year-old Saunders, who created the show.

Lumley, 78, described the “really thrilling” and “vastly entertaining” documentary as “a fabulous wander down memory lane by actresses who only have the faintest grip on reality”, adding that she “loved every second” of making it.

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Absolutely Fabulous first aired on BBC Two in 1992 and eventually ran for five seasons, as well as inspiring a handful of special episodes. The final episodes were broadcast in 2012, marking the show’s 20th anniversary.

Saunders then brought her characters to the big screen in 2016, in a star-studded film that featured cameos from the likes of Kate Moss and Joan Collins.

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out will air on Gold on 17 October at 9pm.