The national treasure tells us how she beat up racists, and why she is optimistic for the future for Asian artists
by Barnie Choudhury
Meera Syal is ferociously funny, intensely intelligent, and she has an edgier side that shows off her campaigning spirit for equality.
Let’s get one thing clear. Her home life with Goodness Gracious Me co-star and husband, Sanjeev Bhaskar, is not one punchline after another.
“When we're in the mood, yes” she said with a twinkle in her eyes and huge smile on her face. “Other than that, it's grumpiness, and who's taking out the recycling and whatever you get in any domestic setup.”
Meera Syal (L) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Syal is speaking to me in front of a virtual audience for the Asian Media Group and University of Southampton’s inaugural fireside “Pioneers Project” chat. She is on top form.
The art polymath – she writes, acts and sings – has been excelling in her profession for more than 30 years.
Syal has just returned from shooting a Disney film in Canada. Spin will be the organisation’s first movie where the central characters are south Asian. In a world exclusive, she spoke about her role as a grandmother championing her granddaughter’s passion for being a DJ mixer.
“I was told think Barbra Streisand meets Bollywood, and I was thinking I’m there, I’m there,” she said. “It's a very classic Disney tale, one of those heart-warming, family films,” she said.
“They run a restaurant. The young girl is very talented musically. She wants to be a DJ. Her father isn't happy with the idea mainly because his wife, who has died, sadly, was a wonderful musician, so it's too painful for him to see his daughter follow the same path as the wife he misses so much.”
Diversity on and off screen
What made the difference for Syal was the diversity of not only the cast but the crew – the director is Manjari Makijany, the talented Indian film maker.
“It's like finally, finally, we've been waiting for this for a long time. It seems to me that there is a genuine need and desire to do diverse stories that are not just the obvious ones which they were in the 70s 80s. I think now it's much more about what are the universal stories that we all share that are filtered through a specific cultural lens. Interestingly, the more specific and accurate you get culturally, the more universal story becomes.”
She warms to the diversity theme.
“It was just so great to be on a set where you weren't going, ‘Do you know what? We are actually a Hindu family, and that's a Muslim icon on the wall, that's a bit of the Quran, that might not work.’ A number of sets I've been on where that's happened? ‘No, no, actually, they're Sikhs and he wouldn't be called Iqbal Khan, sorry.’
“I didn't have to do that because here was an Indian woman directing the film. So, it's not just about diversity in front of the camera, it's so important that we are represented behind the camera. In the crew, in the writing, the production, and in the direction, that's what makes the difference to authenticity.”
Childhood challenges
Syal grew up in the Midlands, the former mining village of Essington, her family being the only Asians. Her parents, economic refugees said the actress, embraced village life, and she described her childhood as idyllic, “cycling with mates, scabby knees, a real tomboy”.
This was the late 1960s, where the nearby MP was Enoch Powell, infamous for his “rivers of blood” speech. The family experienced racism, but not from villagers, who were white, working class, and were “a great community”.
“There are a lot of stories that your parents don't tell you, especially when you're little, because they don't want to upset you. But the racism, the no Irish, blacks and dogs notices, the going for a job interview and suddenly finding it's mysteriously filled. They went through all of that, and I did used to ask them do you regret coming, and they've always said no, absolutely not, because you kids would never have had the opportunities in India that you got here.”
But here is the huge surprise, and the first time she has ever spoken about it. The young Meera would often have to use her fists to escape her out-of-village, racist, abusers.
“When I got to senior school, it was a long, long way, and I had to take two buses,” she remembered. “If I missed that bus, I had to walk through a council estate, and I did miss the bus quite often. But I learned really early on that if I looked like a victim and I behaved like a victim, it [the abuse] got worse.
“And if I walked with confidence, and if I said stuff back and occasionally had to use my fist sadly, it got less. I thought you know what, if I'm going to survive here, I really got to stand firm and stand tall, just got to front it out, no matter how scared I am, because this isn't going to go away. And I can't apologise for the space I occupy.”
Syal never told her parents about any of the racism she faced because she did not want to worry or bother them.
One of a kind
Her parents supported her decision to go to the University of Manchester to read drama, where she got a double first.
This was hugely significant for Asian immigrants who wanted their offspring to become doctors, dentists, pharmacists, engineers and lawyers.
But it was a lonely time for Syal, the only south Asian on her course.
“I don't ever remember seeing another brown face in the arts department at all, plenty in the medical school, obviously. But actually, it gave me a massive advantage because I suddenly realised that a lot of the material I was creating, people have never heard before.
“I was so used to being the only one in the room all the time, so in the early years, you feel this sort of madness, with the loneliness, leads you to think am I really mad trying to do this? I don't see anybody out there like me, how can I get a job? Who will hire me? Who will think whatever I write is relevant or interesting? Will they get it? All of these things.”
Of course, she did succeed, getting a three-year contract at London’s Royal Court and going on to produce hits such as Bhaji on the Beach, which Syal wrote.
“I ended up doing theatre really for my first decade. It was a long time before I got into television because I was lucky enough to hit the London theatre scene just this time where there was a real welcoming of diverse voices.
“In theatre, I was being offered roles I would never ever play on screen, and still probably [would] not. A Peruvian millionaire is in Serious Money, a deaf-mute girl in the 17th century in Birthright at the Royal Court. So, I did my first four or five years with the Royal Court, a whole plethora of parts that had nothing to do with race.”
Breaking barriers
Syal believes the theatre was where the barriers about casting were being broken down, while screen and television have spent decades trying catch up.
“Television have been hung up on whatever people think reality is. So, we can't have a black president, that wouldn't be real. They said 25 years ago. That's not reality, it's more real to have an Asian woman playing a victim of domestic violence than a lead cop, so this is the part we're going to offer you.
“But actually, television and screen should not just reflect what we think the status quo is, they should also be aspirational, they should also show us the kind of reality we are working towards.”
Syal said there is research which shows the effect of being aspirational.
“Before Obama was elected, there were three or four major films in which a black president was cast. And at the time, people said, far fetched, isn't it? But then they did some research and directly linked those big blockbusters to the changing of people's attitudes and accepting a new kind of reality. They said the casting of these films actually helped Obama get elected, because suddenly people saw a reality that they thought could be possible.”
The constant complaint among British black Asian minority ethnic (BAME) actors is that they have to go to America to make their mark.
“I think it's still true, unfortunately,” said Syal. “If you want to get a script onto British television, there is probably only about six people that have the power to commission. That is a tiny, tiny, little bubble.
“In America, it's the land of immigrants, and they have a completely different view of diverse casting anyway, and the industry is much bigger. It's very sad. There's been a real brain drain, one of the things that makes me really sad actually is particularly South Asian female representation.
“If I think about Bhaji on the Beach, it was way ahead of anything that America has done. If I think that Goodness Gracious Me happened way before anything America’s ever done. It feels like we started it here, but then the Americans took the baton and ran right past us, because they were willing to go, we want some new diverse voices, and we don't see you in a specific box, so here we are, what stories do you want to tell? That's not happening here.”
Lazy racism
What happens in television and films, she said, is a lazy form of racism.
“It is getting out of the quota system in your head and actually [stop] thinking that there's only room for one Asian show a year, one Asian star, one Asian drama, one Asian comedy and to take that label right off it and go what's good, and not to worry about who's not going to watch it who is going to watch it.
“Audiences are much smarter than they give them credit for. Audiences will watch what's good and they don't really care what colour the people are that are in it. They really don't. They just want to watch good stuff.”
It was the 1990s hit comedy series Goodness Gracious Me which propelled Syal into the nation’s consciousness, even introducing the Indian word for underpants [chuddis, as in “Kiss my chuddies, man!] into the English lexicon. It was, said Syal, a coming of age which showed Britain that south Asians had arrived and did have a sense of humour.
Goodness Gracious Me catapulted Meera Syal to stardom
More success followed with the international Emmy-award winning The Kumars at No 42. The fact the comedy did not win the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) in 2003, 18 years ago, is something which still rankles.
Meera Syal played Granny Kumar in the hugely successful The Kumars at No. 42
“Sanjeev and I were both nominated for Best Performance, but not as actors but against hosts. So, I was up against Paul Merton, and it was just that sort of a lack of care. The Kumars was never on the same level as Have I Got News for You. It was an acting job, it happens to be a chat show, but why is it not in a sitcom category?
“Why have you put us up against a host? And there's still a sadness about that, actually, for both of us, because we thought that was probably our one opportunity and we would have been the first south Asians to get a BAFTA. Those kind of things disappoint you, looking back.”
Stepping up
BAFTA has been criticised for not recognising BAME talent, but with the arrival of new chair, Krishnendu Majumdar, last year, Myal is hopeful things will get better.
Krishnendu Majumdar (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
“BAFTA’s stepped up in the past year, and the head is now Krish, who's a fantastic, fantastic advocate, quite rightly, for diversity. So, Krish has implemented quite a few changes, changes to the membership, changes to the voting procedures. Lots of things have gone through the last year again, in the wake of Black Lives Matter, but also the BAFTA being so white row.”
The good news is that the BBC’s Mrs Sidhu Investigates should return for a second series on Radio 4, with the hope that it could transfer to TV. And Syal returns as Granny Kumar and her chat show on 10 February.
Syal is, undoubtedly, a pioneer in her field and generation. Her semi-autobiographical novel about her childhood, Anita and Me, was not only made into a film, but is now a set text in some GCSE English exam boards.
Pioneers
The AMG-University of Southampton Pioneers Project, she said, was an important part of British history.
“We’re making history as we go along, and it's not written down. We have not been written into so much of British history, and we're just finding that out now. I'm writing a historical drama with Tankia Gupta, and one of the characters in it is an ayah. We've been in this country for hundreds of years, but actually trying to find the records, and trying to find particularly the personal stories, the narratives of those people.
“It's so sad when there's nothing there other than a statistic saying, ayah arrived on dock, died, blah, blah, blah. There’s nothing else, nothing of who the ayah was her dreams or hopes or fears, what happened to her. So, a lot of our history has not been recorded. If you're not recorded, you're forgotten, so this is really important.”
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.
The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.
Heavy rain and strong winds forecast
According to the forecast, some locations within the amber zone could see between 30mm and 50mm of rainfall, accompanied by wind gusts exceeding 40–50mph. There is a heightened risk of frequent lightning and intense downpours, leading to flash floods and dangerous driving conditions.
The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north NorfolkGetty Images
The Met Office said fast-flowing or deep floodwater could pose a danger to life. People are advised to remain indoors during the worst of the weather and avoid unnecessary travel. Where travel is essential, extreme caution is urged.
Public urged to prepare
Residents in affected areas are being encouraged to check on vulnerable neighbours, especially those who may require assistance with food or medication. The Met Office recommends staying updated with local forecasts, charging electronic devices in advance, and securing outdoor furniture or loose items.
Yellow warnings cover wider region
Alongside the amber alert, several yellow thunderstorm warnings have also been issued:
South-west England and Wales: 14:00–23:59 on Friday
Eastern and south-eastern England: 19:00 on Friday to 06:00 on Saturday
Wales, western and northern England, and Scotland: 00:00–18:00 on Saturday
Heavy rain and thunderstorm warningBBC
Although yellow warnings indicate a lower risk than amber, the severity of thunderstorms could still be high in isolated areas. The warning for Saturday covers more of the UK as the storm system moves westward.
Heatwave peaks before storms arrive
The weather alert comes as Friday could become the hottest day of 2025 so far, with temperatures possibly hitting 30°C around the Norwich area. This would surpass the previous high of 29.3°C recorded at Kew, London, on 1 May.
Elsewhere across East Anglia and south-east England, temperatures are expected to reach the mid to high twenties, which is about 7–10°C above the seasonal average.
Cooler weekend ahead
With rising humidity and atmospheric instability, the thunderstorms are expected to mark the end of the hot spell. Saturday will bring cooler conditions, with temperatures dropping to the low to mid-twenties in the east and the high teens across other parts of the UK.
The Met Office continues to monitor the situation and has advised the public to follow the latest forecasts and travel updates.
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Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020
THE head of an organised crime group who claimed he was a male escort while masterminding an international operation to import cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail.
Kulvir Shergill, 43, from the West Midlands, told National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators he made a living through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and working as a personal trainer.
However, an NCA investigation showed Shergill’s crime group imported around 250kg of cocaine with a street value of £20 million between February 26 and April 24, 2020. The gang used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat in order to arrange the drugs deals.
Shergill and his accomplices are “directly responsible for the horrendous consequences Class A drugs (banned) have among our communities,” said Rick Mackenzie, NCA operations manager. “Proceeds of crime proceedings have been started and all identified assets owned by the defendants have been frozen and are currently under restraint. The NCA will work with our partners at the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] to ensure that any money made from their drug enterprise is recovered.”
Shergill arranged premises for class A drugs to be delivered to in the UK using the EncroChat handle “orderlyswarmer”, the investigation found. He would liaise with contacts in the Netherlands over impending deliveries, before his group distributed them around the country.
Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020. He initially denied smuggling class A drugs, but eventually admitted the offence.
On September 20 last year, Shergill was jailed at Birmingham crown court. The news can now be reported after the last member of his gang, 43-year-old Jagdeep Singh, was jailed for the same offences last week.
Singh was an electrician by trade, and was tasked with taking receipt of drug deliveries and acting as a warehouseman. At the time of his arrest in April 2020, he was in possession of 30kg of high-purity cocaine.
He has now been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars.
Three other gang members were also sentenced last September – Khurram Mohammed, 37, jailed for 14 years and four months was Shergill’s second-in-command and a trusted worker.
Shakfat Ali, 38, who travelled around the UK on behalf of the group and is believed to have delivered drugs, was jailed for 16 years and nine months; while Mohammed Sajad, 44, a trusted member of the group, was jailed for 16 years.
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Motorists are being advised to expect significant disruption
Drivers are facing long delays on the M62 following a lorry crash near Warrington that led to a significant fuel spill on the carriageway.
The incident occurred when the lorry struck railings on a bridge on the A49 Newton Road, causing fuel to leak onto the motorway below. As a result, the M62 has been closed in both directions within junction 9, and the junction 8 eastbound entry slip road is also shut.
Cheshire Police said the motorway could remain closed for several hours. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
National Highways confirmed that traffic is being diverted via exit and entry slip roads. The agency is working to install a new barrier and repair damage caused by the fuel spill. No clear timeline has been provided for when the road will reopen.
Motorists are being advised to expect significant disruption. There are currently delays of up to 60 minutes eastbound and 20 minutes westbound, with congestion building in both directions.
Drivers are urged to avoid the area if possible and allow extra time for journeys while the clean-up and repairs continue.
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A view shows Air India flight AI 379 that had to make an emergency landing back at Phuket Airport, due to a note of a bomb threat discovered mid-air, in Phuket, Thailand, June 13, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)
AN AIR INDIA flight from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi returned to the Thai island on Friday after a bomb threat was discovered on board, according to Thailand’s airports authority.
The flight had taken off from Phuket and was en route to India when the pilot reported a possible threat and made an emergency landing.
Airports of Thailand stated on its Phuket Facebook page that the pilot of the Airbus A320 informed air traffic control after a message indicating a bomb threat was found inside the aircraft.
"We received a report of a bomb threat written inside the aircraft's bathroom, so the pilot informed the control tower and decided to divert the flight to Phuket International Airport after circling to burn off fuel," said Monchai Tanode, director of Phuket International Airport, at a press conference.
"Police have brought in several suspects, but have not yet been able to identify who wrote the message," Monchai added.
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the aircraft made a U-turn over the Andaman Sea shortly after takeoff, then circled repeatedly off Phuket’s coast before landing back at the airport.
The website showed that the flight departed again at 4:28 pm (0928 GMT), more than seven hours after its scheduled departure.
The incident took place a day after another Air India flight, bound for London, crashed in Ahmedabad, killing at least 265 people both on board and on the ground.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
INVESTIGATORS have recovered the black box from the site of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick airport went down shortly after takeoff, killing at least 265 people, including those on the ground.
The aircraft issued a mayday call shortly before crashing into a residential area around lunchtime. The plane had barely lifted 100 metres from the ground before it came down, with its tailpiece left protruding from the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.
Air India said the flight carried 242 people, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian and 12 crew members. According to police, 265 bodies have been counted so far, including at least 24 on the ground. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise as more remains are recovered.
Deputy commissioner of police Kanan Desai confirmed the body count on Friday. Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement that the official death toll would be announced after DNA testing is completed. Samples will also be collected from family members living abroad, he added.
A formal investigation has been launched by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said. The probe will follow International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) protocols. He said a high-level committee comprising experts from multiple disciplines was also being set up to examine the incident and improve aviation safety.
Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy. pic.twitter.com/R7PPGGo6Lj — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 13, 2025
Prime minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and met survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, at the hospital. Ramesh, who was injured in the crash, said, “Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive.”
“Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn’t believe how I managed to come out alive from that,” he added. “Within a minute after takeoff, suddenly... it felt like something got stuck... I realised something had happened, and then suddenly the plane’s green and white lights turned on.”
Eyewitnesses said the nose and front wheel of the aircraft landed on a canteen where students were having lunch. Search and rescue teams worked through the night to locate the black box flight recorders, which are expected to provide vital information about the plane’s final moments.
The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch has offered assistance to India, and the US National Transportation Safety Board will also help with the investigation. Boeing said it was supporting Air India and was “working to gather more information” on the crash.