Prince William may have just handed his sister-in-law Meghan Markle a sneaky ace she can slide up her sleeve – and he deserves a thank you. The Prince of Wales joined Celebrity Traitors contestant Ross Kemp this week to launch a new initiative for the National Emergencies Trust, helping local communities get ready for emergencies like wildfires and flooding.
But in the cheeky exchange, William 'murdered' Ross and enacted a practical joke on the EastEnders star, who famously thought he was being “murdered in plain sight” on the BBC programme. Prince William and Princess Catherine are among the nine million viewers of Celeb Traitors – but Ross refused to give him any spoilers.
A savvy move for the royals
That leads me to William's savvy move – proving in one fell swoop that both the Royal Family and the BBC are still beloved by the British public. Public opinion of William and Kate is soaring, while the general impression of the Sussexes continues to inspire derision.
The same goes for The Traitors, which, despite Strictly Come Dancing's Saturday primetime slot, has continued to beat out the weekend staple in terms of viewing figures. Strictly's first live show was watched by around 4.8million people, while Celeb Traitors drew in 9million for its launch show.
What it means for Meghan
It seems William is sending a clear message here to Meghan – if she wants to sway public opinion now she's back in the UK, that can't simply be achieved by cosy Cotswolds pub visits and meeting with her Hollywood pals. Instead, she needs to prove she can 'lower' herself to the league of small-screen celebrity once again and endear viewers to her on a show like The Traitors.
At this point, The Traitors has become the new Love Island in terms of being a springboard for new social media influencers. The celebrity version is now the equivalent of I'm A Celeb for getting stars back at the top of the billing after they'd begun the slide down. It certainly catapulted Alan Carr even further into the stratosphere of fame.
A chance to rebuild her reputation
For viewers, seeing Meghan prove she can be a team player and getting stuck into tasks – preferably as a Faithful, because I'm not sure the public could forgive her any further betrayals – would go a long way to steadying the rocking boat that is her reputation.
We'd also get to see how she handles living in a castle, giving her the chance to appeal to King Charles for a place back in the bosom of the Royal Family. I genuinely believe that if the public get to see Meghan interact with some national treasures (and we all know the impressive calibre of celeb this season managed to secure) she could claw her way back into a positive place in our hearts.
William has handed her the solution on a plate – she just needs to reach out and take it.
