Oprah offers Duchess of York a show on new network

Oprah Winfrey, the "queen" of American TV, has offered the cash-strapped Duchess of York her own prime-time chat show.

Billionaire Oprah, 56, is launching her own cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network, next January, and last week called the scandal-hit Duchess to offer her a deal. A source close to Sarah Ferguson said: "Oprah made the call this week. They spoke in person and, for Sarah, the offer is a ray of light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

"Oprah has known Sarah for some time and the Duchess went on Oprah's show to explain herself after her most recent scandal. Oprah has always been impressed by Sarah's ability to pick herself up and reinvent herself.

"She feels Sarah will be someone viewers of her new channel will be able to relate to on many levels, she's a divorcee, a working mother, someone who has made some very public mistakes and a woman who, like Oprah, constantly battles with her weight."

Fergie last went on Oprah's show in May to issue a grovelling public apology after being caught by a tabloid newspaper asking for money to provide access to Prince Andrew.

The source said: "Oprah was impressed by Sarah's ability to face up to her errors and to apologise publicly for them. Americans love people who reinvent themselves and Oprah believes Sarah can do that on the new network.

"Sarah also believes her chances of finding meaningful work in Britain are negligible and she has always felt more accepted in America. The idea would be for her to be based in New York so that she could return to England regularly to see the Princesses. At the end of the day she needs to earn a living."