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Discover more about the stars of BBC Drama. |
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 Meera Syal
Meera's probably best known for her comedy work, such as Goodness Gracious Me. She's also a writer of books such as Anita and Me and Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee and she's starred in screen adaptations of both. She even wrote a West End musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bombay Dreams*.
Test your Meera Syal knowledge »
| What's she been in? |
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Meera stars in the TV adaption of her best-selling book, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee.
Her career began when she won a National Student Drama Award for the play One of Us while she was at Manchester University*.
She wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film, Bhaji on the Beach* and also co-wrote a drama called My Sister Wife for the BBC.
Meera's TV career began to take off when she became a regular writer and performer on The Real McCoy in 1991.
On TV she's appeared in a wide variety of shows, from dramas such as Band of Gold*, Fat Friends*, In Deep and Linda Green to comedies like Absolutely Fabulous, Keeping Mum and All About Me.
In 1998 she really hit the big time after writing and starring in comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir and Nina Wadia. The show won loads of awards and was a huge hit. The team took a live version on tour around the country and even made a spin off programme with some of the characters.
Not long after, Meera's first book was published. Anita and Me was later adapted into a film in which Meera appeared. Her second book, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee has been adapted for the BBC and again Meera takes a starring role, along with her husband and Goodness Gracious Me co-star, Sanjeev Bhaskar.
She made herself almost unrecognisable when she appeared in Sanjeev Bhaskar's comedy talk show The Kumars at No 42. She played Sanjeev Kumar's outrageous granny. The show lead to an appearance on Top of the Pops when the team hit number one when they released Spirit in the Sky with Gareth Gates. The single raised loads of money for Comic Relief.
She's become a familiar face on TV screens, making guest appearances in all kinds of entertainment shows such as Room 101*, QI, Have I Got News For You* and The Big Read. She's even had an edition of The South Bank Show* made all about her!
She's even tackled the stage. Like an awful lot of female British TV celebrities she's done a stint in The Vagina Monologues*. Far more dramatically, she hooked up with Andrew Lloyd Webber and wrote the successful Bollywood inspired musical, Bombay Dreams. Writing it wasn't enough, so she took the part of Kitty de Souza during its run at the Victoria Apollo theatre in London's West End.
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| Did you know? |
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Meera was a guest at Prince Charles' wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles.
She was awarded an MBE in 1998.
Meera uncovered her family history on Who Do You Think You Are and discovered her ancestors were part of the struggle for independence in India.
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| Personal Details |
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Meera was born in 1963 in Wolverhampton.
Meera married Sanjeev Bhaskar in a private wedding in January 2005.
She has a teenage daughter from a previous marriage.
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