Meera Syal made a dame in New Year Honours

Actress, comedian and writer Meera Syal has been given a damehood in the King's New Year Honours.

The 64-year-old, best known for her work writing for and starring in British Asian comedies Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No 42, has been recognised for her services to literature, drama and charity.

Dame Meera had previously been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's New Year Honours in 1997 and, in 2015, she was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

She was born in Wolverhampton in 1961 to Indian Punjabi parents, who had moved to the UK from New Delhi. She later attended Queen Mary's High School in Walsall.

While studying for her degree in English and drama at Manchester University, she co-wrote a play called One of Us, about an Asian girl who runs away to be an actress.

She took the play to the National Student Drama Festival, where it won a prize to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival.

This kick-started her career after her graduation, and Dame Meera went to work at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool in 1987 - where she starred as Jacinta Condor in Caryl Churchill's play Serious Money.

In 1993, she wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama film Bhaji On The Beach, and two years later she starred in the Channel 4 romantic comedy film Beautiful Thing.

She also joined the BBC in the 1990s, where she rose to prominence as part of the team behind the broadcaster's sketch comedy Goodness Gracious Me!

The award-winner was a key writer and actress on the 1996 show, and later helped to bring Bollywood to the West End, by co-writing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams in 2002.

Dame Meera often explores her Indian heritage and culture within her acclaimed work, having also spent seven years starring in The Kumars at No 42 - a BBC sitcom about a British Indian family.

In 2008, she starred in the BBC's Beautiful People. She has also appeared in Holby City, Doctor Who and the film Mad, Sad & Bad.

Dame Meera has also featured in hit films Paddington 2 (2017), Nativity Rocks! (2018), Yesterday (2019) and more recently Tinsel Town (2025).

In 2017, the actress was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 2023, she received the Bafta Fellowship award.

Also in 2023, the star was recognised for a Women in Film & Television Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dame Meera has penned three novels, and her debut - Anita And Me (1996) - won her the Betty Trask Award.

Her other novels - Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (1999) and The House Of Hidden Mothers (2015) - are critically acclaimed.

During her career, Dame Meera has also dedicated herself to charity work, and is an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society.

According to its website, she took on the role in 2013 after receiving "amazing" help from the charity following her father's dementia diagnosis in 2012.

She is also a supporter of Kisharon - a charity for Jewish children, young people, and adults with learning disabilities and autism.

In 2014, she was a guest speaker at a gala for the charity, helping it raise more than £700,000.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.