Royal Pundit Alleges Meghan Markle Was 'Flirty' And 'Suggestive' On 'Deal Or No Deal'

A royal pundit has claimed that Meghan Markle was allegedly "flirty" toward married "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandel during her stint as a briefcase model on the game show.

British socialite and royal author Lady Colin Campbell cited an unnamed source "close to the show" as claiming that Markle was removed from her role as a "briefcase girl" because she allegedly tried to use Mandel as a "stepping stone." International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.

"My information, which I got from somebody very, very close to the show, was that the presenter [Mandel], a happily married man... Meghan zeroed in on him. She was full of ideas. ... His wife said, 'Sorry, you've got to get rid of her.' And he got rid of her because Meghan was using him as yet another stepping stone," Campbell alleged on GB News' "Dan Wootton Tonight."

When host Dan Wootton asked Campbell if she meant Markle was "a bit flirty," the "Meghan and Harry" author alleged, "Oh, very flirty and very suggestive. Meghan being Meghan, she wanted her role expanded. She was going to have the role expanded in every way possible not only personally but also professionally and financially, and Mrs. Mandel said, 'Get rid of her.' She's trouble, and they got rid of her."

Campbell also weighed in on Markle's assertion that "Deal or No Deal's" briefcase models are "objectified" and claimed that the comment was "total nonsense."

"The show is about delectable girls and it's about their beauty. It's about their attractiveness. It's about their vivacity. And every single woman on that show who has achieved more than Meghan has achieved has said what a wonderful opportunity it was and what marvelous employers they were," the royal expert claimed.

Royal expert Phil Dampier, who was also a guest in the episode, said that there was nothing wrong with Markle wanting exposure as an aspiring actress at the time but that he didn't agree with the way she allegedly tried to "rewrite" things after leaving the show.

"She wanted to be spotted like so many aspiring actors and actresses, and what's wrong with that?" Dampier said of Markle's stint on the game show. "But if this is the way she's going to rewrite some of these things, can you imagine what she's going to rewrite in her life if she comes out with a book?"

The royal experts' comments came after Lucas Green — the chief content officer at Banijay, which owns the "Deal or No Deal" format — said in a recent interview with Variety that he didn't agree with Markle's view that the show's briefcase models were "objectified bimbos."

"No, but we are constantly evolving the format so that it isn't the same show it was 15+ years ago," he said. "A lot of work goes into modernizing our formats to ensure they represent our values as a company and wider society. The U.K. version for example, will continue to use members of the public from all walks of life to open the boxes [instead of models]."

The former "Suits" star made headlines in October 2022 when she said she felt like a "bimbo" during her tenure on the NBC game show, which lasted from 2006 to 2007.

"When I look back at that time, I'll never forget this one detail," Markle recalled during an episode of her "Archetypes" podcast. "There was a woman who ran the show and she'd be there backstage and I can still hear her ... she'd go, 'Markle, suck it in! Markle, suck it in!'"

The Duchess of Sussex added that her fellow briefcase models were "smart women" but that "the focus" wasn't on their brains.

"I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage," she claimed. "I didn't like being forced to be all looks and little substance, and that's how it felt for me at the time — being reduced to this specific archetype."

Some former "Deal or No Deal" models, including Donna Feldman and Patricia Kara, as well as their stylist publicly disputed Markle's claims.

Feldman said she was never objectified and never witnessed anyone being treated that way on the show. She also pointed out that "everybody knows what you're signing up for when you're hired as a 'Briefcase Beauty,'" adding that "being hired based off your looks comes with the territory."