Meghan Markle and Amanda Abbington are both whingers, says Strictly legend

Raging Ann Widdecombe blasts the Sherlock actress and says she switched off Newsnight 'in disgust' during a recent interview as she compares her to the Duchess of Sussex

Meghan Markle (left) and Amanda Abbington on Newsnight... Widdecombe is not a fan of either

Strictly Come Dancing legend Ann Widdecombe has slammed Newsnight for a "grovelling interview with the ever-whingeing Amanda Abbington".

Writing in her weekly Daily Express column, the former Conservative minister and Brexit Party MEP, compared the Sherlock actor to Meghan Markle for "generating headlines headlines based on grievance after grievance".

Abbington recently spoke about enduring "one of the worst years of my life" during the BBC investigation into her claims about Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice. She quit the show last year before revealing that Pernice's behaviour in rehearsals made her uncomfortable.

He denied all the claims and the BBC probe eventually "upheld some, but not all" of her accusations. On Newsnight, Abbington said that "nearly half her complaints were upheld".

Widdecombe said "normally sharp Victoria Derbyshire refrained from pointing out that meant that more than half were not". In fact, some six out of 17 complaints were upheld, she added.

"In the period before I finally switched off in disgust, the questions mostly began with 'how did you feel?'," Widdecombe wrote. "I suppose it is just possible that after I went to bed Abbington was asked to explain why, at the age of 50-odd, she did not simply tell Giovanni Pernice to stop what was offending her or explain why the statement 'you have talent but you are not using it' justifies a complaint of bullying, but I doubt it.

Anton Du Beke with Ann Widdecombe

"Abbington was little known before this unseemly business but now generates headlines based on grievance after grievance. It reminds me of Meghan Markle and it is equally unattractive."

The columnist – whose appearance on Strictly in 2010 wowed viewers but failed to impress the judges – added that "Newsnight has not covered itself with glory recently", as she also laid into the decision to cancel Laura Kuenssberg's interview with Boris Johnson after she accidentally emailed the former PM her briefing notes.

"It was no big deal," wrote Widdecombe. "No, what appalled me, though sadly it was no great surprise, was that Newsnight then cancelled the interview altogether."

A Little Thought:

I don’t agree with all things Widdecombe but she is right in this article in her column.

I’m glad there was no talk of sexual innuendo during her time as a contest on Structly when she partnered Anton Du Beke.

Meghan Markle tells teenagers she’s ‘one of the most bullied people in the world’

Meghan Markle candidly spoke to teenagers about her experiences with being bullied online at a recent event.

On October 2, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, visited the Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, which is the “preeminent girls’ leadership organization equipping girls to reach their full potential,” according to the company’s official website. Her appearance came to help the organization with a digital wellness program, Social Media U, which has received financial support from Meghan and Prince Harry’s Archwell Foundation.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, Larissa May, the co-founder of #HalfTheStory – an advocacy group that’s working with Girl Inc. – shared how Meghan spoke to children about her personal experiences with online bullying.

“We did an activity where we talked through a bunch of scenarios, and Meghan talked about being one of the most bullied people in the world,” May said. “We had girls wave these little emoji signs and talk about how each one of these scenarios would have impacted them emotionally.”

“We really wanted to make sure that the teens at #HalfTheStory were able to give their input on the type of experience that we would create. Ultimately, we thought the best way to do that was to create a space of vulnerability,” she added. “With Stephanie [the CEO of Girls Inc. and Meghan, we talked about what it really means to grow up in this digital age.”

Meghan’s visit to Girls Inc. came months after she and Harry launched The Parents Network, which supports parents whose children have suffered or died due to online harms. The foundation has also partnered with the World Health Organization and others to end violence against children, an issue Harry and Meghan outlined during a recent trip to Colombia.

During an appearance on CBS Mornings last month, the pair first spoke out about their campaign, revealing they want it to bring awareness to the dangers of online bullying since they themselves are the parents of two young children, Archie and Lilibet.

“Our kids are young; they’re three and five. They’re amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them,” Meghan said. “And so, as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”

During a keynote panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in March, on International Women’s Day, Meghan highlighted the detrimental effects of social media, specifically being bullied online, and how they impacted her.

“Even if it’s making dollars, it doesn’t make sense,” the Suits alum said. “The toxicity that comes at you, yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that. I keep my distance from it.”

Markle added that while pregnant with her children she found herself baffled by how “catty and cruel” people were online.

“But we also created these habits – what I find to be the most distributing is how much of the hate are women spewing that to other women,” she added. “I can’t make sense of that.”

“Reading something terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends?” she asked. “That’s the piece that’s so lost right now. We’ve forgotten about our humanity.”

A Little Thought:

Markle is her own worst enemy.

Her and her husband use social media and court attention on their own conditions but yet when not suiting their agenda it is classed as racism, bullying etc etc.

They could both do us all a favour and don’t court attention and that way we will hear less about them and less will be written.

Cobblers, Fergie...

After attending an event for Prevent Breast Cancer while promoting her novel A Most Intriguing Lady, Sarah Ferguson pulled a pint at Corrie’s the Rovers in tribute to the late Queen who visited the set in 2021: ‘We ought to drink a pint to my wonderful mother-in-law. She really loved her time here.’

Oh dear. Cling-on Fergie can’t help herself. Her late Majesty legally stopped being her mother-in-law 28 years ago after the toe-sucking incident in France and her divorce from Andrew.