‘Government regards us as a joke’ – how can Labour help the music industry thrive?

Published

6 months ago

September 5, 2024

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All eyes have been on the music industry this week after the scramble to secure Oasis tickets saw a huge surge in prices.

Labour has promised to look at so-called dynamic pricing as part of a consultation to create a fairer system, pledging to “put fans back at the heart of music”.

But people across the sector are hoping they don’t stop there and the new government takes a keener interest in an industry that, according to UK Music, contributes £6.7bn to the economy and employs more than 210,000 people.

We speak to a range of industry figures about the challenges they are facing and what they want to see now Labour are in power.

‘Festivals can’t make ends meet’

Rachael Greenfield is the festival director of Bloodstock, an annual rock and metal event in Derbyshire that is family run and sees around 20,000 gather in a field each summer.

But as an independent festival that is only a fraction of the size of the likes of Glastonbury, it has been hit harder by a range of issues impacting the wider music industry.

“Running a festival is always a huge challenge anyway, because you have got to know your market… and getting the right line up for any festival is tough enough,” she said.

“But then 2020 hit. We were facing Brexit, which while we knew it was coming, created its challenges with bands coming into the UK – it is not as attractive as it is to do tours in Europe now, so that has increased costs to get certain bands that we really want to play.

“And then we got the pandemic, which obviously wiped the floor with the entire events sector. So many festivals fell away, but we only held on by the skin of our teeth.”

Rachel praised the previous government’s Cultural Recovery Fund during COVID, saying it saved the event. But that only got them through the worst patch, and it will take at least another five years to recover completely.

Alongside the Association of Independent Festivals, Bloodstock is petitioning the government to give the events side of the industry a 5% VAT break on ticket income for three years to “allow us to breathe, regroup and basically get us onto solid footing and stop these festivals falling by the wayside literally every other day because they cant make ends meet.”

Rachel adds: “Ticket companies are seeing all these festivals going out of business and are becoming very nervous and withholding funds – all the ticket income – until post-festival.

“Well, if you are a huge corporate festival, that’s not such an issue, but when you are a small independent, if you have 70% of your entire festival’s operational costs in advance, you rely on that income or a proportion of it to see you through that year.

“With no ticket income, where you have already gone two years where you haemorrhaged so much money, there is only so long you can go before you say, look I can’t do this anymore.”

‘Nobody can afford rising rates’

Music venues across the country, especially at the grassroots level where every artist and band starts out, are also under growing pressure.

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) said at least two closed every week in 2023, with 125 shutting their doors across the year.

And of those that remained open, 38% reported making a financial loss.

Ali and Matt Barnwell, owners of The Fighting Cocks live music venue in Kingston-Upon-Thames, are among those struggling to make ends meet.

“At the top level it’s making enough to pay the bills,” says Matt, who works on the issues of profitability for the MVT. “That’s driven by cost of labour and cost of entertainment, often fixed costs which are therefore disproportionately felt by smaller venues like ours.

“The pub side of the business is much easier to scale and far more flexible based on trade, but the barrier to entry on the live music side is so much higher.”

The key appeal to the government for him is ensuring business rates don’t rise again.

“Absolutely nobody can afford for these to go back up,” he added. “Alongside this, easier access to grants and funds to support venue management and industry development.”

Ali also said the wider cost of living crisis was hitting them hard, and more support for gig goers at home would help the industry too.

“Fewer people are coming to live shows across the board and getting people to buy tickets in advance is a much bigger challenge than it once was,” she said.

“We’ve also seen the volume of no-shows to gigs climbing. Generally we’re seeing people not wanting to plan in advance or stick to those plans even if they do.”

‘Nobody goes from their bedroom to playing Wembley’

Sarah Pearson, co-founder of the Beyond The Music conference – something she describes as “a democratic version of Davos for the music industry” – says the sector in the UK is too “top heavy”, with the likes of Ali and Mat suffering.

“It is a growth economy at the top for a few, and it isn’t working for the rest of us as an economic model,” she said. “That needs urgent solutions and there does not seem to be much urgency.

“For example, artists who have record deals or who are trying to become bigger and get better at their art don’t have anywhere to play because the grassroots music venues have closed.

“But also acts aren’t playing out as much as they can’t afford to. Costs have gone up, so promoters can only afford to put on gigs that will definitely sell.

“And actually, when you are growing, you need to be able to play to five or six people to get better and to grow your audience.”

The Fighting Cocks’ Ali agrees, adding: “It’s about appreciating the role grassroots venues play in the wider music ecosystem.

“The Music Venue’s Trust have been doing a great job of showcasing how venues like ours act as the research and development for the industry as a whole.

“Nobody goes from their bedroom to playing Wembley. There’s huge amounts of money at that top level and so little of it for those of us taking the risks on a band’s first show.”

For Beyond The Music’s Sarah, she says there is a call across the industry for more investment from large music companies into the grassroots to then be matched by the government.

“Basically it would reflect the Football Foundation, where the Premier League clubs invest in the grassroots, and the idea is the same would happen in music,” she said.

“We could create a growth plan that was really exciting for grassroots from those who deservedly earn a lot of money from music.”

‘Music is Britain’s contribution to the world’

British punk and folk singer Frank Turner has long campaigned for grassroots music venues to ensure the future of the industry thrives in the UK.

But he also wants more help for the artists themselves.

“I fell in love with rock music as a kid – Iron Maiden, to be precise – and I immediately wanted to participate,” he told Sky News. “It took me a long time to work out what that would realistically consist of as a career, and I was helped on my way by Black Flag and punk rock, but the desire was there from the start.

“But making a living is hard. The margins on recorded music have completely collapsed in the last 20 years or so, and they’re getting thinner on touring as well.”

For Turner there was also a “physical and mental strain” for those who pursue a performing career.

“It can be brutally tough,” he adds. “Touring is hard, pushing yourself creatively is hard, and social media makes the whole thing a lot worse. There are more structures in the industry now to help with this stuff, but it’s still a huge challenge.”

However, while he warns of a range of challenges – from rising costs through to the impact of Brexit – what he wants to see from ministers is a shift in attitude towards the music industry.

“The music industry has long been a large, stable employer and a huge net contributor to the Exchequer, and that’s without even mentioning cultural capital,” he said.

“For a long time the industry has been regarded as something of a joke, as compared with, say, the car industry or agriculture, while in reality British music has been one of our strongest contributions to the world, economically and culturally, for a few generations now.

“I think there is a shift starting, I’m more encouraged by our new government than its predecessors, but there is still a way to go.”

‘Let us thrive’

Fiona Stewart, managing director and owner of the Green Man festival in Wales, echoed Turner’s concerns, saying the biggest barrier for her part of the industry was a lack of understanding from government.

“Let’s face it, Britain isn’t the economic powerhouse and producer it once was,” she claimed. “In some ways it would be refreshing for this country to see it as it is right now – a small country that has got a fantastic creative industry, and many other industries, which can be agile and contemporary and produce and inspire.”

Fiona added: “With all the divisions we face right now… things like music bring people together, and it is needed. It has a power and it would be wonderful for the new government to recognise that but in a much more strategic way.

“That’s what we need. We need strategy. Not just big funding moments or a big statement. A proper strategy to understand what is going on over a period of years and proper investment at the proper time like any business person would do.

“It would bring more respect to the industry and let us thrive where we can.”

A government spokesperson said: “The music industry is a serious national asset that plays a major role in our national identity, and delivers huge benefits for our economy. We are absolutely committed to supporting the sector to thrive, including our festivals and vital grassroots music venues, and ministers are considering a range of policy options.

“As part of our ambitious plans, we want to see stronger efforts from the industry to create career opportunities for more people from diverse backgrounds, to draw upon the wealth of talent that exists across the country and drive economic growth in our communities.”

Entertainment

BBC apologises over controversial Gaza documentary, with chairman calling it ‘a dagger to the heart’

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2025

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BBC apologises over controversial Gaza documentary, with chairman calling it 'a dagger to the heart'

The BBC has called the ongoing controversy over a documentary on Gaza a “really, really bad moment”, admitting the film’s failings are “a dagger to the heart” of the corporation’s impartiality.

Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was pulled from iPlayer and will not be broadcast on channels again after it emerged that the child narrator is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

Last week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called an “urgent meeting” with the corporation over the film.

BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah were questioned by MPs during a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Shah told committee members: “This is a really, really bad moment. It’s is a dagger to the heart of the BBC claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy.”

He said questions over “what went wrong” were asked “on day one” following the programme’s transmission.

He went on: “To my shock, I think that we found that there were serious failings on both sides, on the independent production side as well, as well as on the BBC side.”

Mr Shah said an interim report commissioned by the BBC found “it wasn’t so much the processes were at fault as people weren’t doing their job”.

Mr Shah said he believed the problem was confined to this programme, adding: “On this story we’re examining the how and why, the compliance that determines did not take place.”

However, he also said he thought an independent review into how the BBC covers stories in the Middle East should also be carried out independently.

Tim Davie said there was “a lot of frustration and disappointment” over the film, adding: “We’re very sorry to the audience.”

‘We were not told’

How To Survive A Warzone was made on commission by independent production company Hoyo Films, and features 13-year-old Abdullah al Yazouri, who speaks about life in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Davie said there were specific questions asked around Abdullah’s father, and the BBC “found out that we were not told”.

He went on: “At that point, quite quickly, I lost trust in that film. Therefore, I took the decision quite quickly to take it off iPlayer while we do this deep dive.”

Mr Davie said removing the film from iPlayer had been “a very tough decision”.

Discussing whether or not the family involved in the film had been paid for their work, he said: “As I understand it today, the BBC has only made one payment. This was for a licence fee, to the programme maker.”

He said an initial assessment of the economics had showed “that there was a small payment to the sister… It’s totally normal payment because the boy recorded the narration. He went to a studio to do it.”

Describing the fallout as “damaging”, Mr Davie said he believes “overall trust in BBC news remains very high”.

He went on: “We’re not losing all context here. This was a serious failing. But we have trust numbers that we’re very proud of, we’re the most trusted brand in the world. And part of what we do to earn that trust… is actually be highly transparent and go through enormous processes when we fail like this to show how we’re going to fix it.”

Mr Davie says he has “fast-tracked” the review “out of the news department”, where it will be overseen by Peter Johnson, BBC Director, Editorial Complaints and Reviews.

Media watchdog Ofcom sent a letter to the BBC flagging their “ongoing concerns” about the “nature and gravity” of the documentary on Monday, which Mr Shah said he “welcomed”.

The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required” in relation to the documentary.

Complaints from both sides

Hoyo Films said in a statement: “We are co-operating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston (director of editorial complaints and reviews) to help understand where mistakes have been made.

“We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.”

Last week, protesters gathered outside Broadcasting House in London claiming the BBC had aired Hamas propaganda.

The BBC also faced criticism in pulling the documentary, with Gary Lineker, Anita Rani, Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margoyles among more than 500 media figures who had condemned the action.

In an open letter addressed to Mr Davie, Dr Shah and outgoing chief content officer Charlotte Moore, hundreds of TV and film professionals and journalists called the decision to remove the documentary “politically motivated censorship”.

Following the committee session, Artists for Palestine UK, the group that published the letter, accused Mr Davie and Mr Shah of “throwing Palestinian children under the bus”, questioning how the corporation would safeguard the young people who appeared in the documentary.

In a statement, the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism accused the BBC of “marking its own homework”, adding: “No other broadcaster would be permitted this latitude, and no other regulated industry would allow this.”

They also called for the licence fee to be suspended pending an independent investigation into the documentary.

Entertainment

Olivier Awards: Adrien Brody gets first nomination days after Oscar win

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2025

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Olivier Awards: Adrien Brody gets first nomination days after Oscar win

Nominations for the Olivier Awards, British theatre’s most prestigious honours, have been announced.

Following his second Oscar win at the weekend, Adrien Brody is nominated for best actor, for his performance in The Fear Of 13 – a play based on the real-life story of a man who spent 22 years on death row for a rape and murder that he did not commit.

Fellow US stars Billy Crudup and John Lithgow are up against him in the category, along with UK stars Paapa Essiedu and Mark Strong.

Brody, Crudup, Essiedu and Lithgow are all first-time nominees.

In the best actress category, The Crown star Lesley Manville is up against Meera Syal, Indira Varma, Heather Agyepong and Rosie Sheehy.

Manville and Varma both nominated for playing the same role in different productions of the Greek mythology classic Oedipus

Fiddler On The Roof is this year’s most nominated production, with 13 nods.

It’s up for best musical revival, with old favourites including Oliver!, Hello Dolly and Starlight Express.

In the musical theatre performing categories, John Dagleish is up for best actor for his role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, a decade after his last win.

He’s up against Myles Frost, Simon Lipkin, Jamie Muscato and Adam Dannheisser.

Four-time Olivier winner Imelda Staunton is up for best actress in a musical for her role in Hello Dolly!, her 14th Olivier nomination and her eighth in the category.

She’s competing against Lara Pulver, Chumisa Dornford-May, Lauren Drew and Clare Foster.

Best new play includes Brody’s The Fear Of 13, along with Kyoto, Shifters, Giant and The Years.

Giant and The Years are tied for most nominated play this year with five apiece.

Gina McKee is nominated for best actress in a supporting role, alongside Romola Garai who is double nominated in the same category for her roles in Giant and The Years.

Actress Sharon D Clarke makes up the category.

And in best supporting actor, Ben Whishaw will be battling it out against Jorge Bosch, Tom Edden, and Elliot Levey.

Sunset Boulevard was the big winner at last year’s Olivier Awards, taking home seven gongs and equalling the record for the most prizes for a musical at the ceremony.

The 2025 Olivier Awards will take place on Sunday 6 April at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Beverley Knight and Billy Porter.

Full list of nominations:

Mastercard Best New Musical

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, music & lyrics by Darren Clark, book & lyrics by Jethro Compton at Ambassadors Theatre

MJ The Musical, book by Lynn Nottage at Prince Edward Theatre

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812, music, lyrics & book by Dave Malloy at Donmar Warehouse

Why Am I So Single?, music, lyrics & book by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss at Garrick Theatre

Blue-i Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design

Jon Bausor for Set Design, Toby Olié & Daisy Beattie for Puppetry Design and Satoshi Kuriyama for Projection Design for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Frankie Bradshaw for Set Design for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier

Es Devlin for Set Design for Coriolanus at National Theatre – Olivier

Tom Scutt for Set Design for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

White Light Award for Best Lighting Design

Paule Constable & Ben Jacobs for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Howard Hudson for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Howard Hudson for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Aideen Malone for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

TAIT Award for Best New Opera Production

Duke Bluebeard’s Castle by English National Opera at London Coliseum

Festen by The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

L’Olimpiade by Irish National Opera & The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

The Tales Of Hoffmann by The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

Outstanding Achievement in Opera

Aigul Akhmetshina for her performance in Carmen at Royal Opera House

Allan Clayton for his performance in Festen at Royal Opera House

Jung Young-doo for his direction of Lear at Barbican Theatre

Best Family Show

Brainiac Live at Marylebone Theatre

Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas at Apollo Theatre

The Nutcracker at Polka Theatre

Rough Magic at Shakespeare’s Globe – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre

Animal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty Hennessy

Boys On The Verge Of Tears by Sam Grabiner at Soho Theatre

English by Sanaz Toossi at Kiln Theatre

Now, I See by Lanre Malaolu at Theatre Royal Stratford East

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander at Marylebone Theatre

Best New Dance Production

Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young at Sadler’s Wells

Frontiers: Choreographers Of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner by The National Ballet Of Canada at Sadler’s Wells

Theatre Of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company at Sadler’s Wells

An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement in Dance

Sarah Chun for her performance in Three Short Ballets at Royal Opera House – Linbury Theatre

Tom Visser for his lighting design of Angels’ Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers Of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner at Sadler’s Wells

Eva Yerbabuena for her performance in Yerbagüena at Sadler’s Wells

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Jorge Bosch for Kyoto at @sohoplace

Tom Edden for Waiting For Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Elliot Levey for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Ben Whishaw for Bluets at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Sharon D Clarke for The Importance Of Being Earnest at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Romola Garai for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Romola Garai for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Gina McKee for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

Matthew Bourne for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Julia Cheng for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Hofesh Shechter for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Christopher Wheeldon for MJ The Musical at Prince Edward Theatre

Best Costume Design

Hugh Durrant for Robin Hood at The London Palladium

Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Tom Scutt for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Gabriella Slade for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design

Nick Lidster for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Christopher Shutt for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Thijs van Vuure for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Koichi Yamamoto for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Outstanding Musical Contribution

Mark Aspinall for Musical Supervision & Additional Orchestrations for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Darren Clark for Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements and Mark Aspinall for Musical Direction, Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Dave Malloy for Orchestrations and Nicholas Skilbeck for Musical Supervision for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Asaf Zohar for Compositions and Gavin Sutherland for Dance Arrangements & Orchestration for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Liv Andrusier for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion Theatre

Beverley Klein for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Maimuna Memon for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Andy Nyman for Hello, Dolly! at The London Palladium

Raphael Papo for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Layton Williams for Titanique at Criterion Theatre

Tom Xander for Mean Girls at Savoy Theatre

Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play

Ballet Shoes adapted by Kendall Feaver at National Theatre – Olivier

Inside No 9 Stage/Fright by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith at Wyndham’s Theatre

Spirited Away adapted by John Caird & co-adapted by Maoko Imai at London Coliseum

Titanique by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle & Constantine Rousouli at Criterion Theatre

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

Eline Arbo for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Jordan Fein for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Nicholas Hytner for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Robert Icke for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best Actress

Heather Agyepong for Shifters at Duke of York’s Theatre

Lesley Manville for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Rosie Sheehy for Machinal at The Old Vic

Meera Syal for A Tupperware Of Ashes at National Theatre – Dorfman

Indira Varma for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Best Actor

Adrien Brody for The Fear Of 13 at Donmar Warehouse

Billy Crudup for Harry Clarke at Ambassadors Theatre

Paapa Essiedu for Death Of England: Delroy at @sohoplace

John Lithgow for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Mark Strong for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Cunard Best Revival

The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Machinal by Sophie Treadwell at The Old Vic

Oedipus by Robert Icke at Wyndham’s Theatre

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Piper-Heidsieck Award for Best Musical Revival

Fiddler On The Roof, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Hello, Dolly!, music & lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart at The London Palladium

Oliver!, book, music & lyrics by Lionel Bart, new material & revisions by Cameron Mackintosh at Gielgud Theatre

Starlight Express, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical

John Dagleish for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Myles Frost for MJ The Musical at Prince Edward Theatre

Simon Lipkin for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Best Actress in a Musical

Chumisa Dornford-May for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Lauren Drew for Titanique at Criterion Theatre

Clare Foster for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Lara Pulver for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! at The London Palladium

The Londoner Award for Best New Play

The Fear Of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino at Donmar Warehouse

Giant by Mark Rosenblatt at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Kyoto by Joe Murphy & Joe Robertson at @sohoplace

Shifters by Benedict Lombe at Duke of York’s Theatre

The Years adapted by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Entertainment

With Love, Meghan: What we learnt from Duchess of Sussex’s new Netflix series

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2025

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With Love, Meghan: What we learnt from Duchess of Sussex's new Netflix series

The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle series premiered this morning – in which she talks about her life in California, her time spent living in Argentina and her love of food.

With Love, Meghan – an eight-part series on Netflix – had been delayed from a January release due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

The episodes, which last about 30 minutes each, feature a host of celebrity friends along with a few cameos from her husband, Prince Harry.

From her first jobs growing up to what she was like on the Suits set, here are some things we learnt about the duchess.

‘I’m Sussex now’

One of Meghan’s guests is The Office star Mindy Kaling, who she bonds with over their lives as toddlers’ mums while putting together a tea party in the garden.

As they put sandwiches together for the tea, Meghan talks about her love of Jack In The Box – a classic US fast-food chain, to which Kaling responds: “I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it.”

The duchess laughs and says: “It’s funny, you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know, I’m Sussex now.

“You have kids, and you go, ‘now I share my name with my children’… I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go ‘this is our family name, our little family name’.”

Similarities with Archie

During episode four, the duchess goes on a hike with her friend Delfina Blaquier, who is married to Argentinian polo star Nacho Figueras, and together they have a picnic with homemade focaccia bread.

The duchess reveals how she passed time during her childhood – and the similar traits her son, Archie, has: “As a kid, I was taking a bag of tea from the drawer in my house, putting it in a mason jar or probably an empty jar that once held spaghetti sauce and putting it in the sun, and sitting there… waiting for it to change colour.

“Funny enough, which Archie does now.”

Days before the show aired, in an interview with People magazine, the duchess said Archie had told her: “Mama, don’t work too hard” during filming.

She added the five-year-old helped with the clapperboard while visiting the set with his sister Lilibet and Harry.

Life in Argentina

The two friends met through their husbands – “The moment we met, we bonded over our love of the outdoors and being in nature. We always hike together whenever she’s in town. And sometimes we let our husbands join us,” Meghan says.

Reflecting on when they first met, Meghan says: “What’s so funny is, I remember when we first met, and you were like: ‘Wait a minute, you speak Argentinian Spanish?’ But it’s such a pretty language because it sounds so musical.”

Her friend says: “When you started speaking Spanish and I recognised the Argentinian, I was blown away, because I didn’t know that…”

“That I’d lived there,” Meghan responds.

She adds: “When I lived in Argentina, I think the reason I loved it so much is because it reminded me of California in a lot of ways. Where you have the mountains and you have this joy of life and the joy of being outside.

“I was only there for a few months interning at the US Embassy, but I loved it.”

First jobs in doughnut and yoghurt shops – and some more childhood memories

In episode five, as Meghan hosts long-time friends, former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and Kelly McKee Zajfen, she says that her first job was at Humphrey Yogart, a frozen yoghurt shop in Los Angeles playfully named after actor Humphrey Bogart.

That came after she told chef Roy Choi in episode three, as she presented him with doughnuts she prepared for him, that she once had a job at a doughnut shop.

“Doughnuts in general just remind me of my childhood,” she said.

“I once had a job at a little donut shop called Little Orbit Donuts. They made tiny, tiny, little mini donuts.”

She said she often helped them sell at craft venues, adding that doughnuts generally were a big part of her childhood.

“Growing up, driving down Highland to get to school, there was always a Yum Yum Donuts right there.”

“Highland and Melrose,” Choi clarifies.

“Exactly… is it still there?”

When Choi says it is, she responds: “Oh my god. I should go back in.”

In another episode, Kaling asks whether Meghan began cooking at home or picked it up later. Meghan replies: “I was a latch-key kid so I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners.

“It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids meals.”

Life in Montecito house

The lifestyle show, which was filmed in a California farmhouse rather than in her Montecito house, features her describing her every day life – including how it is a “daily” task to pick fruit when it’s in season at her home.

Episode one Hello Honey! features Meghan’s friend Daniel Martin as she prepares a “thoughtful guest basket”.

It begins with her harvesting honey from bees, saying: “The biggest thing is keeping a low tone – talk in our bee voice.”

With the help of a beekeeper, she talks about “trying to stay in the calm of it because it’s beautiful to be this connected”.

Harry is the king of eggs

When asked by Kaling about how best to season eggs, the duchess says: “I have a family, a husband, who no matter what meal is put in front of him before he tastes it puts salt on, so I try to under salt.”

Harry himself, it is later revealed, is something of an egg connoisseur.

Speaking to two close friends in a later episode, she says “H” is a “great cook” and makes “the best scrambled eggs”.

She further praises him by saying he generally makes “a really good breakfast”.

Bacon was the subject of discussions on more than one occasion during the series, with Meghan saying that whenever she cooks it the kitchen “becomes full of husband and three dogs”.

“It’s not my perfume that’s bringing them all in,” she jokes.

What the duchess was like during Suits

Meghan’s days of playing paralegal Rachel Zane in popular drama Suits came to an end in 2018, the year she married Harry.

But she has clearly remained close with co-star Abigail Spencer, who played Dana Scott.

In episode five, as the pair sat in Meghan’s garden alongside Kelly McKee Zajfen, Spencer reflected on what Meghan was like during the Suits days.

She said Meghan was “the head of morale on the show,” to which Meghan thanked her and added: “I liked to plan fun for everyone.”

Heart-warming moments of Meghan with beloved beagle

The whole series ends with a tribute to Meghan’s late dog, Guy, who featured prominently in several episodes.

One morning, the duchess is seen making bone-shaped peanut butter biscuits for the rescue beagle, who died shortly after filming wrapped, saying you can make them with leftover bacon from breakfast.

She admitted there was “never” any leftovers in her house because “we eat a lot of it” – another reference to the Sussexes love of bacon.

“I would do anything for Guy, and he knows it,” she then says. “He can have whatever he wants ’cause he is whatever kind of guy you need him to be depending on the day. My sweet guy, my silly guy, my saucy little guy. Always my spoiled guy.”

Later, as she hands him a peanut butter cookie, she adds: “They provide us with unconditional love, so they get unconditional peanut butter dog biscuits. Why not?”

The Sussexes also have two other dogs – another rescue beagle named Mia and a black Labrador called Pula, who is seen trying to steal some of Meghan and her guests’ food at various points during the series.

Meghan’s ‘next chapter’

In the eighth and final episode, called Feels Like Home, Meghan prepares for Prince Harry to make an appearance.

She is putting together a brunch for family and friends to celebrate the “next chapter” in her life.

Sharing details of how she envisages the so-called “next chapter”, Meghan, wearing a blue maxi dress and putting the finishing touches to a spread of food outdoors, says: “Of course, my husband will be here, my mum will be here, my best friend since college, my community having a brunch in the sunshine with the people that I love, celebrating this next chapter of my life.”