Meera Syal: 'I am now a Triple Bad Bet – Old, Female and Brown!'

My guest this week is the actor, playwright, screenwriter, novelist and multi-award winner Dame Meera Syal. Most of us have those people we grow up alongside and it feels like Meera has always been a fixture in my life, ever since I first saw her in the 80s film, Sammi and Rosie Get Laid. She’s been writing, performing and breaking new ground ever since and now in her early 60s she still is. In the early 90s she wrote the brilliant film Bhaji on the Beach, co-wrote and starred in the utterly groundbreaking Goodness Gracious Me and gave us the unforgettable character, Ummi, in the Kumars at Number 42.  She’s hardly been off our screens and stages ever since. She’s also written three novels - including Anita and Me which she turned into films. She’s won Emmys - two I think - been awarded a BAFTA fellowship, a CBE, an MBE and now a damehood. Now she’s looking back over her life in her first memoir, which I have to say, has the best title ever, Vigilauntie. Meera joined me to talk about growing up Brown in the 70s and wearing the wobbly crown of the good girl while feeling driven to be a bad one. We discussed the wasted potential of older women, writing to survive, the battle to level the playing field and finding herself in an emergency care crisis in her 50s. Plus being a Triple Bad Bet (Old Female and Brown) and why she’s reclaiming Auntie power. I could go on, but I’ll let her tell you herself. I just know you’re going to love this conversations as much as I did. * You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Shift bookshop on Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, including Vigilauntie by Meera Syal, as well as the book that inspired this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too, by Sam Baker. * If you enjoyed this episode and you fancy buying me a coffee, pop over to my page on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • And if you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including exclusive transcripts of the podcast, why not join The Shift community, come and have a look around at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theshiftwithsambaker.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • The Shift is created, hosted and produced by Sam Baker and edited by Kelsey Bennett at Pineapple Audio Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices