Mishal Husain’s tart 3-word response to Meghan and Harry’s interview assault

BBC Election Debate host Mishal Husain will tonight be grappling with seven senior politicians as they each vie for their share of TV time, including Angela Rayner for Labour and Penny Mordaunt for the Conservatives.

Joining them at 7.30pm on BBC One from the Liberal Democrats will be Daisy Cooper, and fresh from his milkshaking in Clacton, the newly restored Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

The Scottish National Party will be represented by Stephen Flynn while co-leader Carla Deny will appear for the Green Party.

Completing the line-up will be Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth.

After the ITV Leaders’ Debate on Tuesday, in which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was criticised for talking over host Julie Etchingham, viewers would be forgiven for dreading a debate format in which seven political candidates all want to have their say.

But the 51-year-old stalwart presenter is well used to her interview subjects trying to portray themselves in the best light.

In November 2017, Mishal was picked to give the first broadcast interview with the newly engaged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The beaming couple were ushered into a room in Kensington Palace where they giggled and held hands as they told Mishal about the moment Harry popped the question while they were roasting a chicken for dinner.

But years later, both Harry and Meghan would denounce the interview as being part of an “orchestrated reality show”, claiming: “We weren’t allowed to tell our story.”

In their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the pair told how their first joint interview was organised by Kensington Palace’s press office and was “rehearsed”.

“We did the thing out with the press, then we went right inside, took the coat off and did the interview. So it’s all in that same moment,” Meghan said.

Asked whether they were given advance warning of the questions Mishal would ask, Meghan admitted: “Yeah, but also like, ‘Then there’ll be a moment where they’ll want to see the ring, so show the ring’.”

When the series dropped in December 2022, Mishal was quick to respond to the comments made by the former senior royals.

Her Radio 4 Today programme colleague Jonny Dymond said: “They also say the interview they did with Mishal was an orchestrated reality show. Bit of a blow! I don’t know who orchestrated it.

“Maybe it was all Mishal’s evil plan, it seemed at the time – I mean, I was rather new to the job. It seemed like a rather charming interview of two people quite in love, and Mishal lobbing questions at them, that was an orchestrated reality show. We will find out later in this show who the puppeteers really are,” he joked as Mishal chuckled in the background.

Mishal then echoed the words of the late Queen when she revealed her reaction to their claims.

“We know recollections may vary on this particular subject but my recollection is definitely very much, asked to do an interview, and do said interview,” she said.

Co-presenter Justin Webb quipped back: “You’ve told your truth.”

The late Queen Elizabeth had used the same phrase in her first statement after Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021, in which Meghan had alleged an unnamed member of the Royal Family had raised “concerns and conversations” about the colour of their unborn son Archie’s skin.

She also claimed to have been “silenced” by the Firm while struggling with her mental health, and said she was denied help for her worsening depression.

In response, Buckingham Palace’s statement said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

*Catch the Election Debate tonight from 7.30pm until 9pm on BBC One and BBC News