The Duchess of Sussex has “reached out” to new neighbour Jennifer Aniston in the hope that she will appear on her podcast to give it a much-needed boost.

The Friends star has just moved into an £11.5million Mediterranean-style farmhouse in Montecito, barely three miles from Prince Harry and Meghan, that she bought from Oprah Winfrey in September 2022 and has since been renovating.

A business source in Hollywood said getting Aniston, 56, to do the podcast is seen as a way of changing its fortunes after its debut was pilloried by critics.

They said: “Meghan is hoping Jen will be there for her – as soon as possible – as a guest. Meghan knows she needs a major A-list name to bounce back fast after such a mixed start.”

Though Aniston, who currently stars in and produces hit Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, has only fleetingly met Harry and Meghan, in the past she recently told a US magazine she has a “ton of empathy” for the much-derided duchess.

Spokespeople for both did not return requests for comment and our source said there have been only “tentative talks” so far, with “nothing set in stone yet”.

They added: “As well as Jen, I understand Meghan is also reaching out to other A-list friends and contacts.”

Potential allies include Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Kerry Washington, Priyanka Chopra, Serena Williams and near-neighbours Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Kevin Costner, all of whom would guarantee huge audiences.

Reviewers last week slammed Meghan’s debut interview on Confessions of a Female Founder – with Bumble online dating platform pioneer Whitney Wolfe Herd – as “stomach-turning” and an “inane stream of mindless aphorisms”.

On Friday, it was sitting at number five in the US and number 11 in the UK in the Apple Podcast Top Charts list.