MEGHAN AND Harry's TV interview with US chat show host Oprah was the most-watched programme in Ireland this year, new figures have revealed.
The explosive interview, which had far-reaching, domino-effect consequences including Piers Morgan leaving Good Morning Britain after accusations of bullying Ms Markle, and the Royal family being hit with claims of racism and a lack of mental health support, aired in March of this year.
Despite airing in the United States the night before, and wall-to-wall media coverage throughout the day, almost 800,000 people tuned into RTÉ to watch the former senior royals expose some of the more challenging aspects of being a part of the monarchy.
Image: CBSSome of the more shocking revelations from the programme saw Ms Markle admitting she had felt suicidal due to scrutiny from the media and receiving very little help from 'the firm', Harry saying his brother William was 'trapped' in the family, and an unnamed senior member of the family being concerned about the colour of then-unborn Archie's skin colour.
According to analysis by marketing communications company Core, 799,671 people in Ireland tuned into the interview which was aired on Irish television on 8 March, making it the most-watched programme in the year by far.
Comparatively, the second most-watched show of 2021 was the 5 January episode of RTÉ's Six One News, when 762,012 people tuned in to hear the latest lockdown and Covid-19 news as Ireland battled its deadly third wave of the pandemic and restrictions were tightened to its highest-ever level.
The Irish Examiner also reports that streaming services continue to prove far more popular than TV, which is experiencing a 7% year-on-year drop, but sports fixtures such as the Six Nations and the Euros grabbed a large audience.
