Meera Syal
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Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in '' The Kumars at No. 42''. She became one of the UK's best-known Asian personalities. She was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...
and in 2003 was listed in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. She was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama and literature.


Early-life

Syal was born on 27 June 1961 in
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
and grew up in
Essington Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England, located near the city of Wolverhampton and towns of Walsall, Bloxwich, Cannock and Brewood. The villages of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Coven, Penkridge and Featherston ...
, Staffordshire, a mining village a few miles to the north. Her Indian Punjabi parents; Surinder Syal (father) and Surinder Kaur Uppal (mother), came to the United Kingdom from
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
. Her father was
Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...
and her mother was Jat. When she was young, the family moved to Bloxwich, north of
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
. This landscape, and the family's status as the only Asian family in the small Midlands mining village of Essington, was later to form the backdrop to her novel (later filmed) '' Anita and Me'', which Syal described in a 2003
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
interview as semi-autobiographical. She attended Queen Mary's High School in nearby
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
and then studied English and Drama at
Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, graduating with a Double First.


Acting and writing career

During her studies, Syal joined the Stephen Joseph Studio, acting and latterly writing stage plays. On graduation, she had secured a place to study for an MA in drama and psychotherapy at the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
, and then to study for a PGCE to teach. However, she had also co-written the one-woman play ''One of Us'' with Jackie Shapiro, in which Syal performed all fifteen parts, about a West Midlands-born ethnic Indian girl who ran away from home to become an actress. First performed at the Stephen Joseph Studio, she then performed it at the
National Student Drama Festival The UK based National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) was founded in 1956 with the purpose of creating new art, new artists and new communities. It also runs a charity aimed at empowering young artists. The NSDF is targeted towards people age ...
where it won a prize to perform at the
Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
, where it also won a prize. As a result, a director from the
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...
contacted Syal, and asked her to perform in a play at the Royal Court on a three-year contract. Syal wrote the screenplay for the 1993 film '' Bhaji on the Beach'', directed by
Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...
, of ''
Bend It Like Beckham ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (also known as ''Kick It Like Beckham'') is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knight ...
'' fame. In 1996 she played Miss Chauhan, a high school soccer coach in the film Beautiful Thing. She was on the team that wrote and performed in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
comedy sketch show '' Goodness Gracious Me'' (1996–2001), originally on radio and then on television. She was a scriptwriter on A.R. Rahman and Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Bombay Dreams'' and she played the grandmother Sushila in the
International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...
-award-winning series '' The Kumars at No. 42'', which ran for seven series, reviving the character in 2021 for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar''. In October 2008, she starred in the BBC Two sitcom '' Beautiful People''. This role, as Aunty Hayley, continued in 2009. Syal starred in the eleventh series of '' Holby City'' as consultant Tara Sodi. In 2009, she guest starred in ''Minder'' and starred in the film ''Mad, Sad & Bad''. In 2010, she played Shirley Valentine in a one-woman show at the
Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in the London Boro ...
, later transferring to
Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...
. In the same year she played Nasreen Chaudhry in two episodes of '' Doctor Who'' alongside
Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...
.


Other notable appearances

Syal is an occasional singer, having achieved a number one record with Gareth Gates and her co-stars from ''The Kumars at No. 42'' with "
Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...
", the
Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
single. She earlier (1988) provided vocals for a bhangra version of "Then He Kissed Me", composed by
Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...
and with the Pakistani pop star
Nazia Hassan Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. Referred to as the Queen of South Asian pop, she is considered one of the most influential singers in the subcontinent. Starting in ...
, as part of the short-lived girl band Saffron. In June 2003 she appeared as a guest on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
'' programme with a selection of music by
Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...
, Madan Bala Sindhu, Joni Mitchell, Pizzicato Five, Sukhwinder Singh, Louis Armstrong and others. The luxury she chose to ease her life as a castaway was a piano. Having studied English at university and penned two novels and a variety of scripts and screenplays, Syal was chosen as one of the guests on "The Cultural Exchange" slot of '' Front Row'' on 30 April 2013, when she nominated ''
To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
'' by Harper Lee as a piece of art work which she loved. As a journalist, she writes occasionally for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.


Awards and recognition

Syal won the National Student Drama Award for performing in ''One of Us'' which was written by Jacqueline Shapiro while at university. She won the Betty Trask Award for her first book ''Anita and Me'' and the Media Personality of the Year award at the
Commission for Racial Equality The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...
's annual ''Race in the Media'' awards in 2000. She was given the
Nazia Hassan Foundation Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. Referred to as the Queen of South Asian pop, she is considered one of the most influential singers in the subcontinent. Starting in ...
award in 2003. In 2011–12, Syal was appointed visiting professor of contemporary theatre at
St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although t ...
. She has an honorary degree from SOAS, University of London and from the University of Roehampton. She received her
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
from the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
on 6 May 2015 at Buckingham Palace. In 2017, Syal was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.


Personal life

Syal married journalist Shekhar Bhatia in 1989; they had a daughter together before divorcing in 2002. In January 2005, Syal married her frequent collaborator, Sanjeev Bhaskar, who plays her grandson in ''The Kumars at No. 42''; the marriage ceremony took place in
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
register office, Staffordshire. They have a son, born in 2005. In 2004, Syal took part in one episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', which investigated her family history. Syal discovered that both her grandfathers were supporters of the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
: one as a communist
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
, the other as a
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
protester who was briefly imprisoned in the Golden Temple. In January 2011, Syal took part in the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
programme ''My Teenage Diary'', discussing growing up as the only
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
girl in a small English town, feeling overweight and unattractive. Syal's brother is investigative journalist Rajeev Syal, who covers
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
, writing stories for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. In February 2009, Syal was one of a number of British entertainers who signed an open letter printed in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' protesting against the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran.


Writing credits


Screenplays

*'' Bhaji on the Beach'' (1993) *'' Anita and Me'' (2002)


Stage

*''One of Us'' (1983) *''The Oppressed Minorities Big Fun Show'' (1992) *''Goodness Gracious Me'' (1999) *'' Bombay Dreams'' (2002)


Radio

*'' Goodness Gracious Me'' (1996–98) *''Masala FM'' (1996)


Television

*'' Tandoori Nights'' (1985) *''Black Silk'' (1985) *''
The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...
'' (1991) *''My Sister Wife'' (1994) *'' Goodness Gracious Me'' (1998) *'' Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee'' (2005) *''Uncle Santa'' (UK ''
Little Crackers ''Little Crackers'' is a British Christmas comedy-drama that was broadcast on Sky1. It consists of a series of short films featuring stars of British and Irish comedy, including Stephen Fry, Catherine Tate, Chris O'Dowd, Kathy Burke, Victoria W ...
'' TV series) (2010)


Novels

*'' Anita and Me'' (1996) *''Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee'' (1999), published in German under the title ''Sari, Jeans und Chilischoten'' in 2003 *''The House of Hidden Mothers'' (2015)


Acting credits


Stage

*''One of Us'' (1983) *'' Serious Money'' (1987) *'' Peer Gynt'' (1990) *''The Oppressed Minorities Big Fun Show'' (1992) *'' The Vagina Monologues'' (2001) *''Bombay Dreams'' (2004) *'' Rafta, Rafta...'' (2007) *''Shirley Valentine'' (2010) *''
The Killing of Sister George ''The Killing of Sister George'' is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was later adapted into a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich. Stage version Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series ''Applehurst'', a district nurse ...
'' (2011) *''
Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' (2012) as Beatrice *'' Behind the Beautiful Forevers'' (2014) as Zehrunisa *'' Romeo and Juliet'' (2016) as Nurse *'' Annie'' (2017) as Miss Hannigan *''
Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...
'' (2019) as Dotty Otley


Radio

*''True Believers'' (1990) *''The World As We Know It'' (1999) *'' Double Income, No Kids Yet'' (2001) *''A Small Town Murder'' (2008–2020) *''Bindi Business'' (2017) *''Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar'' (2021)


Film and TV

*''Majdhar'' (1983) *'' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4'' (1985) *''
A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in ''St. Nicholas Ma ...
'' (1986) *''
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' is a 1987 British film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. Plot Sammy and Rosie are a married couple, both leading a promiscuous bohemian lifestyle until Sammy's father comes to visit to ...
'' (1987) *''
The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...
'' (1991) *''Gummed Labels'' (1992) *''
Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...
'' (1992) *'' Sean's Show'' (1993) *'' The Brain Drain'' (1993) *''
Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'' (1994) *'' New Best Friend'' (1994) *''Flight'' (1995) *''Degrees of Error'' (1995) *'' Band of Gold'' (1995) *'' It's Not Unusual'' (1995) *''
Drop The Dead Donkey ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' is a British television sitcom that was first shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of "GlobeLink News", a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it ...
'' (1996) *''A Nice Arrangement'' (1996) *'' Beautiful Thing'' (1996) *''Marsala FM'' (1996) *''Crossing The Floor'' (1996) *''Ruby'' (1997) *'' Sixth Happiness'' (1997) *''
The Book Quiz ''The Book Quiz'' is a BBC Four quiz programme. The first series, first broadcast in 2007, was hosted by David Baddiel with a second 2008 series hosted by Kirsty Wark. Critical reception Rupert Christiansen, writing for The Daily Telegraph, offe ...
'' (1998) *''No Crying He Makes'' (1998) *''Keeping Mum'' (1998) *''
Legal Affairs ''Legal Affairs'' was an American legal magazine that was launched under the auspices of Yale Law School, and which later became an independent non-profit venture with an educational mission. As the first general-interest legal magazine, ''Legal A ...
'' (1998) *''The World As We Know It'' (1999) *'' The Strangerers'' (2000) *'' Forgive and Forget'' (2000) *'' Anita and Me'' (2002) *'' Bad Girls'' (2004) Season 6 Episode 4 *'' Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee'' (2005) *'' Murder Investigation Team'' (2005) *''
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' is a British drama series that aired on BBC One in 2006. Produced by Kudos, it was written by Sally Wainwright and stars Jane Horrocks in the title role of a woman with no previous political experience who becomes P ...
'' (2006) *'' Jekyll'' (2007) *''
Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
'' (2007) *''
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom ''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Based on a story by Ali and a script by Habib Faisal, the film stars Abhishek B ...
'' (2007) *'' When Were We Funniest?'' (2008) *'' Beautiful People'' (2008–09) *'' Holby City'' (2009) *'' Desert Flower'' (2009) *''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' (2009) *''
Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...
'' (2009) *'' Doctor Who'': " The Hungry Earth" (2010) and " Cold Blood" (2010) *'' Tinga Tinga Tales'' (2010) Voice of
Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
*'' The Jury'' (2011) *'' Hunted'' 2 Episodes (2012) *''Bollywood Carmen Live'' (2013) *''
Absolutely Anything ''Absolutely Anything'' is a 2015 British science fantasy comedy film directed by Terry Jones, who also co-wrote it with Gavin Scott. It stars Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard and Joanna Lumley, with the voi ...
'' (2015) *'' The Brink'' (2015) *'' Broadchurch'' (2015) *''
Alice Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...
'' (2016) *'' Doctor Strange'' (2016) *'' Riviera'' (2017) *'' Paddington 2'' (2017) *'' The Split'' (2018, 2022) *''To Provide All People'' (2018) *'' Patrick'' (2018) *'' The Nutcracker and the Four Realms'' (2018) *'' Nativity Rocks!'' (2018) *'' Yesterday'' (2019) *'' Dragon Rider'' (2020) *'' Kate & Koji'' (2020) *'' Spin'' (2021) *''
The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in ad ...
'' (2021) *'' Code 404'' (2021) *'' Back to Life (TV series)'' (2021) *'' Roar'' (2022) *'' The Sandman'' (2022) *'' The Almond and the Seahorse'' (2022) *'' The Devil's Hour'' (2022)


Academic reception

Her book ''Anita and Me'' has found its way onto school and university English syllabuses both in Britain and abroad. Scholarly literature on it includes: *Rocío G. Davis, "India in Britain: Myths of Childhood in Meera Syal's Anita and Me", in Fernando Galván & Mercedes Bengoechea (ed.), ''On Writing (and) Race in Contemporary Britain'', Universidad de Alcalá 1999, 139–46. * Ana Maria Sanchez-Arce "Invisible Cities: Being and Creativity in Meera Syal's ''Anita and Me'' and Ben Okri's ''Astonishing the Gods''", in Philip Laplace and Éric Tabuteau (eds), ''Cities on the Margin/ On the Margin of Cities: Representations of Urban Space in Contemporary British and Irish Fiction'', Besançon: Presses Universitaires Franc-Comtoises, 2003: 113–30. *Graeme Dunphy, "Meena's Mockingbird: From Harper Lee to Meera Syal", in ''Neophilologus'' 88, 2004, 637–59.


References


External links

*
British Council: Meera Syal
BAFTA webcast, March 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Syal, Meera 1961 births Living people English women comedians English Hindus British actresses of Indian descent English women dramatists and playwrights English film actresses English film producers English musical theatre actresses English women novelists British Asian writers English screenwriters English television actresses English television producers British women television producers British television producers English television writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Manchester Actors from Wolverhampton Actresses from the West Midlands (county) English people of Punjabi descent British women screenwriters British women television writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English actresses Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English actresses