Real Housewives star Claudia Jordan rubbishes Meghan Markle’s Deal or No Deal claims

One of Meghan Markle’s former Deal or No Deal co-stars has hit out in response to her criticism of the show in fierce defence of its creators.

A woman who starred alongside Meghan Markle on Deal or No Deal has fired up in response to the Duchess’ comments about working on the show after she opened up about the experience on her podcast.

In the latest episode of her Spotify podcast, Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex spoke of being “reduced to a bimbo” while working on the show, for which she said she was only valued for her looks, and not her intellect.

She also recalled being ordered to “suck it in” by showrunners in an incident that led to her leaving the job.

The claims led Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan, who had a stint on the game show at the same time, to disagree, asserting that the women chosen for the show were selected mainly because they had “the most outgoing and fun personalities”.

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Meghan spoke of her Deal or No Deal experience in the latest episode of her podcast. Picture: Getty Images.

Claudia, 49, who starred in Deal or No Deal for four seasons from 2005 to 2009, rebutted that bosses “never treated them like bimbos” and that it helped provide “so many opportunities” for them. She went on to thank host Howie Mandel in the hopes of clearing up “any misunderstanding about the climate and environment on the Deal or No Deal set.”

“For clarity – yes getting a modelling gig on a game show isn’t necessarily about your intellect, but every show the executive producers picked five models with the most outgoing and fun personalities to place mics on, who they knew would engage with the contestants,” she wrote in a post shared to her Instagram Stories.

“And Deal or No Deal never treated us like bimbos. We got so many opportunities because of that show.”

She added, “If you show up and seize your moments, there’s no limits to what you can do with the opportunity.”

Claudia Jordan appeared on the show at the same time as Meghan. Picture: Getty Images.

Her recollection of the experience wildly differed from Meghan’s. Picture: Getty Images.

Claudia’s “enjoyable” experience on the show helped launch a major career for herself, she further claimed.

“It was a step on the ladder I’ve been ascending on for 25 years that paid all my bills, put me in front of 13 million people a night, and led to me getting on Celebrity Apprentice, Celebrity Apprentice All Stars, a breast cancer awareness campaign, guest hosting Extra, getting into People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful issue, and so much more.

“Not too shabby for a ‘bimbo’,” she added, explaining that she was not “attacking” Meghan, just defending the show which launched her career.

It comes after Meghan revealed she quit Deal or No Deal after being “objectified” on stage in 2006, The Sun reported.

Meghan held briefcase number 24 during her time as a model on the US version of the game show – years before she met Prince Harry.

In her latest Spotify episode – titled Breaking Down ‘The Bimbo’ with Paris Hilton – Meghan described the experience as “fascinating”, going on to “paint the picture” of what it was like.

Meghan Markle as a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal. Picture: Supplied

“All the girls... We would line up, and there were different stations for having your lashes put on, or your extensions put in, or the padding in your bra.

“We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie-cutter idea, of precisely what we should look like.

“It was solely about our beauty. And not necessarily about brains.

“And when I look back at that time I will never forget this one detail because moments before we’d get on stage, there was a woman who ran the show and she would be there backstage and I can still hear her.

“She couldn’t properly pronounce my last name at the time – and I knew who she was talking to because she would go ‘Mark-ell, suck. Mark-ell, suck it in.’ I ended up quitting the show.

“Like I said, I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel which was not smart.”