Phillip Schofield clashes with Meghan Markle’s ‘unbelievably guarded’ friend on This Morning

Phillip Schofield clashed with Meghan Markle’s ‘unbelievably guarded’ friend Janina Gavankar during a tense exchange on Wednesday’s This Morning.

The presenter spoke to Janina, who has been a close friend of Meghan’s for 17 years, to discuss her and Prince Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The pair clashed after Phillip asked what Janina’s ‘role’ was by appearing on the show, after she avoided a series of questions about the Duchess of Sussex .

When asked if Meghan knew she would be appearing on This Morning, Janina said: ‘Oh yes absolutely. I talk to them all of the time. We watched the special together actually.’

She was then asked if Meghan was happy following the revelations of the interview, which Janina ducked by saying: ‘We’re all happy we are in a new era. We get to tell the truth. Things are different now. But I will say I don’t speak for them, I speak for myself.’

Taking issue with her answer, Phillip said: ‘OK but I’m not entirely sure what it is that you’re saying.

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‘I don’t know what your role is in coming on today. I would expect any friend of mine to do exactly what you’re doing. If you were going to come on the telly to be unbelievably guarded and practically say nothing – what is your role today?’

Following Phillip’s question, Janina laughed and said: ‘It’s so funny you say that because I am surprised by your questions. I can tell you this. I am very excited that this is really a new era. Things are different. They can tell the truth, we can tell the truth.’

Janina went on to say that she had been surprised to have been contacted by three different ITV shows, saying: ‘I was surprised. I am not a purported Royal expert, I’m just a person who can gladly say the truth can finally come out.’

‘Which is precisely why three ITV shows have reached out to you,’ Phillip said.

Later in the interview, Phil added: ‘There is a great proportion of the British public really quite stunned at the fact we have an elderly Monarch with her husband in hospital, who is dealing with that in the middle of a pandemic with hundreds of thousands of people dying around the world. Why would they want to nuke their family in public?’

‘I don’t think their intention was to nuke them, it was the chance to finally tell their truth,’ Janina replied.

Phil then spoke about why they were keen to speak to Janina in the first place, saying: ‘Obviously we’re fascinated. We want to know what Meghan’s like as a person. She’s judged around the world, but you know her – that’s why you’re on.’

Meghan sat down with husband Prince Harry for a bombshell interview with Oprah on Sunday night, explaining their decision to quit life as senior members of the Royal family.

One person who wasn’t mentioned in the testy exchange between Phillip and Janina was Piers Morgan, who quit Good Morning Britain yesterday after receiving 41,000 Ofcom complaints for doubting the Duchess of Sussex’s revelation that she considered suicide at the height of racist abuse.

This Morning airs on weekdays at 10am on ITV.

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