Dame Meera Syal: ‘My big Victoria Wood moment was nightmarish career low’

From never fitting in as a child to career lows to fighting for representation – Meera Syal’s career has been far from uneventful (Picture: Getty)

In a Wolverhampton hospital in 1961, a British screen legend who needs little introduction was born: Dame Meera Syal.

In 2026, it seems inevitable that the 65-year-old has enjoyed a decorated four-decade-long career paralleled by the likes of Emma Thompson, Jennifer Saunders and Olivia Colman.

She’s one of the creative masterminds behind TV hits like Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42; the author of poignant novel-turned-movie Anita and Me; and, o...