Thomas Markle Jr has issued a public apology to his sister Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, after criticising her in the media for years.

The 55-year-old said he had made some horrible mistakes’ after being thrust into the spotlight when Meghan started dating Prince Harry.

Markle Jr who is a contestant in Australian reality show Big Brother VIP, also said he hoped his step sister was watching him on the show saying: ‘That’s why I’m doing this, so she can see the real me.’

‘I want everybody watching to take away this side of me, the real me. I am lovable, nice, I’ll give you the shirt off my back, I’m funny,’ he said to New Idea.

Despite having previously warned Prince Harry his sister would ‘ruin your life’, Thomas said there was no animosity on his side.

He said that growing up with Meghan had been ‘a great experience’ and that they were ‘very close’ and would spend ‘lots of quality time’ together.

Thomas said their relationship soured when Meghan started dating Harry and he was ‘thrown to the wolves’ with ‘no experience’ of handling the press.

‘I was being backed into a corner, into a wall. I made some horrible mistakes and still regret them to this day,’ he said.

Thomas insisted he loves his sister and would ‘do anything’ to meet his nephew Archie, two, and niece Lilibet, four months.

‘I don’t need a photo-op to go see my sister, and I don’t want a story behind it,’ he explained.

‘I don’t want anything, I would just love to go over to their home and knock on the door, give her a big hug and kiss, and say I missed the hell out of her and apologise right to her face…

‘Maybe one day that will happen. I’d do anything to see Archie and Lilibet.’

In a candid conversation with his housemates during Monday’s season premiere of Big Brother VIP, Thomas claimed Meghan changed after finding fame.

‘What happened to her, nobody can figure it out. Money changed her I guess. Money and fame just went to her head really bad,’ he said.

Thomas went on to say that Meghan ‘walked all over’ her first husband, film producer Trevor Engelson, who had ‘adored’ her.