Europe News Desk!! British-Indian playwright and actress Meera Syal will be awarded the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Fellowship, the highest honor awarded to an individual for outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, sport or television. Meera Syal, who starred in the hit BBC comedy Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No 42, will be honored at the BAFTA Television Awards on 14 May at the Royal Festival Hall. Syal said, “I am thrilled and honored to receive the BAFTA Fellowship. I am particularly pleased that this year’s award has been combined with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTA’s learning programme, where I look forward to continuing to connect and work with many talented practitioners.
As part of the fellowship, she will inspire and support interested candidates through BAFTA’s year-long programmes. She will appear in two new flagship series this autumn – The Wheel of Time and Mrs. Sidhu Investigates. With his MBE and CBE awards, Syal has lent his distinctive voice to the UK’s creative arts across a range of artistic genres over four decades, with over 140 credits and counting. Born to Punjabi parents in New Delhi, Syal’s cross-cultural stories and performances have been instrumental in showcasing positive representations of British-Asian stories and talent on screen, said a BAFTA statement. His work has garnered several BAFTA nominations and wins. His program on features on the school and university curriculum was said to be one of Her Majesty The Queen’s favorite TV programmes.
Syal has also received the Women in Film and TV Award for Creative Innovation, SOS, Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Manchester and Birmingham. Born in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and educated at the University of Manchester, Syal studied English and drama and gained a double first. Her career began at the Royal Court. Along with his numerous and continuing theater roles, his talent quickly saw him graduate to screenwriting – scripting Bhaji on the Beach in 1993 and My Sister’s Wife in 1994, as well as writing and leading the comedy sketch-show The Real McCoy (1991–1994). Two of his novels, Anita and Me (2002) and Life is Not All Ha Hee Hee (2005), have been adapted for the screen. Syal played roles in the popular television series Beautiful People (2008–2009), Dr Who (2009), Horrible Histories (2009), Broadchurch (2015), The Split (2018–2022).
–IANS
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