Sarah Ferguson started a podcast months ago, before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have no idea if her pod is successful, but I would assume most people really just don’t care. Still, because Fergie is toeing the Firm’s line for the most part, she must be hyped as the next big thing in… American broadcasting?? The Mail is trying to start the rumor that Fergie might end up hosting an American talk show. Like… this isn’t a real thing. It seems the real story is that Fergie is back to scheming for a way to make money so she can “support” her ex-husband.

The Duchess of York is hoping to land a lucrative chat show in America in a bid to help her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, pay his mounting bills. TV producer Amy Rosenblum told The Mail on Sunday that she met Sarah Ferguson at New York’s Regency Hotel last month and discussed possible formats. Ms Rosenblum, one of the most respected figures in US television, who was a long-time producer of America’s top-rated breakfast programme, NBC’s Today Show, said: ‘Sarah told me, “I want a show! I want a show!” I did a pilot with her about 15 years ago. We were up against Ellen DeGeneres and ultimately they went with Ellen. But Sarah was really good when we did the pilot. We have been friends since then.’

Ms Rosenblum declined to comment on specific pitches which may be in the pipeline. But an insider at ABC TV, part of giant Disney Studios, said: ‘Fergie could reasonably expect to earn around £2million a year, but that figure would go up considerably should her show be a hit.

‘She’s always gone down well in America. She’s never been too proud to promote the heck out of anything, be it one of her books or WeightWatchers. Americans respect someone who hustles.’

The ABC source said: ‘Ellen has retired so there is a gap in the market.’

Fergie is reportedly keen to help bankroll £2million worth of essential maintenance work at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.Andrew had faced losing his 30-room mansion until he paid £200,000 for urgent roof repairs this summer. A source told the Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s true Sarah wants to help Andrew stay in what she considers their family home. She lives at Royal Lodge when she’s in the UK. It’s very much their family’s base. Andrew has lost so much. She will do everything she can to help him keep the house, even though it may prove untenable in the long term.’

Friends say that the Prince has been left ‘bereft’ by events and is a ‘lost soul’.

‘He rides his horses and goes for long walks but he is a lost soul and veers between bafflement and feeling bereft by the turn of events,’ said one woman who is in touch with members of his inner circle. ‘He has always maintained his innocence and those close to him believe him absolutely. He is struggling. He was able to pay for the emergency roof repairs but that was very much an interim fix. The overall repair bill is considerably higher and you have to factor in the day-to-day running costs of a place like Royal Lodge.

‘Money, or the lack of it, has been a constant in Andrew and Sarah’s relationship. She will do everything she can to support him now, just as she always has.’

[From The Daily Mail]

The Mail also name-checked Kelly Clarkson and Drew Barrymore (but failed to mention Jennifer Hudson) as talk-show hostesses who are trying to fill the daytime market following Ellen’s exit. Again, Fergie isn’t getting a network talk show. Americans wish her well, but we’re not dying to see her on a talk show, and these days, her baggage (Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein) would weigh down the show. As I said, the real point of this story is “poor broke Andrew.” “He is a lost soul and veers between bafflement and feeling bereft by the turn of events…He has always maintained his innocence and those close to him believe him absolutely.” Bafflement? Does he not remember all of the teenage girls procured for him by Jeffrey Epstein? Did someone force him to settle out of court with Virginia Giuffre? Did someone force him to lie his ass off in a BBC interview? Good lord. The Yorks are a complete disaster, and I really hope that Eugenie and Beatrice are smarter about money and their associations.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.