Meera Syal CBE to be honoured with BAFTA Fellowship
Meera Syal CBE will be presented with a BAFTA Fellowship at the forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards. It is the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television.
Meera Syal CBE is an award-winning and nationally beloved actor, screenwriter and novelist. She has brought her distinctive voice to the UK’s creative arts across multiple artistic genres over four decades, with over 140 credits and counting.
Perhaps best known for the two iconic comedy series Goodness Gracious Me (1998-2001) and The Kumars at No. 42 (2001-6) Syal’s cross-cultural stories and performances regularly unite the nation through humour and have played an instrumental force in showcasing the positive representation of British-Asian stories and talent on screen.
Meera Syal said: “I am thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship. I am particularly delighted that this year’s award is twinned with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTA’s learning programme – where I hope to engage with many talented practitioners and continue working to make BAFTA a truly representative and celebratory place for all our creatives. And I am grateful for the chance to pay forward the opportunities and experiences I have been lucky enough to have over my career.”
Alongside her MBE and CBE awards, Syal’s work has scored multiple BAFTA nominations and wins, features on school and university syllabuses, and was said to be among her Majesty the Queen’s favourite TV programmes. Syal has also received the Women In Film and TV Award for Creative Innovation, honorary doctorates from SOAS, Manchester and Birmingham Universities and was the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University in 2012.
Related to this
.
Meera Syal awarded damehood in King’s New Year Honours
As part of the Fellowship, Meera will work directly with the arts charity over the coming year to inspire and nurture aspiring creatives through BAFTA’s year-round learning, inclusion and talent programmes.
The Fellowship will be presented to Meera Syal during the BAFTA Television Awards ceremony as part of a special commemoration of her work to-date, on Sunday 14th May at the Royal Festival Hall.
Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA said: “Meera Syal has made an extraordinary impact on the screen and literary arts. As an actor and writer, she is an exceptional storyteller with enormous range, which means she is loved by peers and the public as much as she is critically acclaimed. At BAFTA, we very much look forward to working with Meera over the next year on her mentoring scheme. We couldn’t be more delighted to present her the BAFTA Fellowship and celebrate her next month at our BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises.”
