Bafta lifetime award represents change – Meera Syal

Meera Syal placed a bindi on her Bafta and said it “represents change” as she was presented with a lifetime achievement award.

The Wolverhampton-born actress, comedian and writer was given a Bafta Fellowship on Sunday in recognition of “outstanding achievement” within TV.

Collecting the award, she spoke of the need for diversity in the industry.

“As a chubby brown kid from Wolverhampton, I got othered a lot,” she explained.

The 61-year-old referenced a quote from Maya Angelou about the “the agony of an untold story” as she reflected on her career, which has spanned three decades.

“We are all storytellers here, so we know how much it matters, what stories we get to tell but more importantly who gets to tell them,” she added.

Syal, who was awarded a CBE in 2015, grew up in the village of Essington in south Staffordshire after her parents moved from India to the UK.

Known for her roles in Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumar’s at No. 42, alongside husband Sanjeev Bhaskar, she reflected on growing up in the West Midlands as she picked up the award.

Previous recipients of TV’s highest accolade include Sir Billy Connolly and the journalist Jon Snow.

On stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Syal adorned a glittering bindi decoration on her award and thanked her family, agents and casting directors.

“I know this represents change and we all know we still have work to do, but we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and giants,” she said.

“[Thanks] to all the casting directors who fought to get me in the room, especially when it didn’t say Asian in the breakdown.”

‘This represents change’
The Mrs Sidhu Investigates star also praised her “wonderful parents”, including her father who died in 2018, adding that he had found himself in a refugee camp during the partition of India in 1947.

“When he and his Punjabi mates shared their stories about their dreams and their struggles and their hopes for their children like me, that’s when I really knew who they were.

“Because when you hear someone else’s story you stand in their shoes,” she added.

The actress ended her speech by dedicating her win to her “fellow travellers” and those who had been made to feel that their stories had not mattered, due to their race, gender or class.

“The untold stories are the ones that change us and sometimes can change the world,” she said.

“Please keep going, I see you, and thank you so much Bafta for tonight – seeing us.”