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MYSTERIOUS: Meera syal - What They Never Told You

Dame Meera Syal: Goodness Gracious Me ‘took ownership’ of Indian representation

The actress rose to prominence as part of the team behind the popular BBC sketch comedy.

Evening Standard

The best podcasts of 2026 so far

Surreal genius from Harry Hill, trailblazing women and a passionate ode to an incredible New York rapper – these are the best listens from the last six months

The Guardian - UK

Konnie Huq and Meera Syal meet the King at British Asian Trust gala

The annual gala aims to recognise the charity’s work in supporting people across South Asia.

Evening Standard

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Anita Rani celebrates awesome women: best podcasts of the week

The presenter meets remarkable public figures, starting with a lovely talk with writer-actor Meera Syal. Plus, a vital deep dive into US supreme court justice Neil Gorsuch

The Guardian - UK

Idris Elba knighted in new year honours list also featuring Torvill and Dean

Meera Syal also made dame while England women’s football and rugby winners feature prominently

The Guardian - UK

Meera Syal, Gabby Logan and Richard Osman among new year honours in arts and media

Syal becomes a dame, Last of the Summer Wine writer Roy Clarke gets knighthood and Paul Elliott awarded MBE

The Guardian - UK

Idris Elba and Lionesses lead new year honours list as more than 1,100 recognised

From champions of sports and the arts to foster carers, health workers and supporters of young people, a total of 1,157 recipients, from every part of the UK, have been awarded

The Independent UK

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Actress Meera Syal given damehood for services to literature, drama and charity

The 64-year-old is best known for her work writing for and starring in British Asian comedies Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No 42.

Evening Standard

The Revenge Club review – this starry divorce caper makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time

Martin Compston and Meera Syal are among the names in this tale of divorcees hitting back at their exes. It’s a thriller, comedy and psychodrama all at once – but could maybe do with being more simple

The Guardian - UK

‘The angry Scotsman is always funny’: Martin Compston on new comedy drama series

The 41-year-old stars in new comedy drama series The Revenge Club, centred around a divorce support club.

Evening Standard

Oh yes he is! Kiefer Sutherland dives into the world of panto

Hollywood megastars hit Leeds this year to make Tinsel Town, a feelgood festive comedy about panto. The 24 star, Rebel Wilson and more talk about their addiction to Greggs sausage rolls – and epic brawls with Danny Dyer

The Guardian - UK

‘I spoke complete twaddle for four minutes’: Meera Syal, Larry Lamb and more on the terror of stage fright

Forget Halloween! Real scares can happen to actors any night of the year. Big name performers, including Zachary Hart and Harmony Rose-Bremner, recall their worst moments – and how they overcame their fears

The Guardian - UK

5 new podcasts to listen to this week

These are our top podcast picks.

The Independent UK

Toby Jones’s next campaign? Misinformation, and a huge immersive theatre show

Meera Syal also to star in London production reflecting producer’s experience of censorship in Georgia

The Guardian - UK

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WhatToWatch

Tinsel Town: cast, plot, first look and everything you need to know

Tinsel Town is a Christmas comedy with Kiefer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson, Danny Dyer and Sir Derek Jacobi among the cast.

Evening Standard

Danny Dyer and Sir Derek Jacobi join cast of ‘screen legends’ for Christmas film

Dyer joins Rebel Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, Katherine Ryan and Mawaan Rizwan in the film Tinsel Town.

WhatToWatch

How to watch Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out online – live stream the comedy series retrospective from anywhere now

Here's how you can watch Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out online, and catch the comedy special when it airs on Thursday, October 17 on UKTV Gold or on streaming service NOW.

The Guardian - UK

A Tupperware of Ashes review – wrenching drama of a family hit by Alzheimer’s

In Tanika Gupta’s play, Meera Syal is a steely south Asian matriarch whose Lear-like decline into dementia upends her family

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The Independent UK

A Tupperware of Ashes review: Muddled Alzheimer’s play is well-acted, but a tough slog

Tanika Gupta’s play follows a mother whose mind is disintegrating as her children rally around

The Guardian - UK

‘If audiences are crying, I’ve done my job’: closing the stories of a generation of British south Asians

Actors Meera Syal and Shobna Gulati, with playwright Tanika Gupta, explain how their National Theatre production springs from the anguish of losing their mothers

The Independent UK

Meera Syal compares on-screen diversity to ‘window dressing’ without structural change

‘Goodness Gracious Me’ star says she still often is offered roles to play a ‘mother or grandmother of terrorist’

The Independent UK

‘I’d rather rewatch a bad film than a classic’: The science behind our comfort movies

Chris Harvey has watched Richard Curtis’s mushy Beatles movie ‘Yesterday’ four times – but could only sit through Todd Field’s Oscar nominee ‘Tár’ once. He investigates what it is about certain films that keeps us coming back for more

The Independent UK

Goodness Gracious Me cast to mark 25th anniversary of sitcom with reunion

Members of the cast and crew from the sketch show will come together at the Desiblitz Literature Festival in October.

The Guardian - UK

‘Eddie Izzard was too terrified to come on!’ How we made The Kumars at No 42

Meera Syal remembers the thrill of kissing her heroes dressed as an 85-year-old granny with bad teeth, while Sanjeev Bhaskar reveals how the show was inspired by his parents interrogating his girlfriend

The Guardian - UK

Meera Syal calls for more diversity in TV industry as she wins Bafta award

Star of Goodness Gracious Me thanked Bafta for ‘seeing us’ as she accepted lifetime achievement award

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