Dame Meera Syal has revealed she was sexually assaulted in her 20s, saying it "completely changed my life" and the direction of her career. The 65-year-old actress, best known for co-creating and starring in the BBC sketch comedy series Goodness Gracious Me, opened up about the attack in an interview with The Times.
Assault in the 1980s never reported
The attack happened in the 1980s and was carried out by an older man she thought she could trust until he tried to rape her. Dame Meera said she never reported the assault because she could not bear the thought of putting her parents through a criminal trial, and instead told no one.
Speaking publicly for the first time, she said: "This is the first time I've spoken about this publicly. It completely changed my life and the direction of my career. I could have given up, but instead I sought out a group of south Asian writers."
Turning to writing and strong female characters
She said those writers encouraged her to write more, found her a place to live, and "healed me and awakened me politically". Years later, she opened up to a group of friends and learned that many of them had endured something similar. Dame Meera said the assault led her to write the strong female characters that featured on the acclaimed BBC sketch show and other comedy shows that changed her life.
Reflecting on Goodness Gracious Me, which also starred her husband Sanjeev Bhaskar, she said: "It was a golden age of sketch comedy, alternative comedy and Cool Britannia. There was a real embracing of multicultural Britain. How times have changed."
Political climate and immigration concerns
Dame Meera also described the current political climate as giving her a "horrible sense of deja vu", particularly around immigration. She recalled growing up with the initials of the far-right National Front party painted on her house.
She said: "It feels like we are back in the Seventies. Back then we had NF (National Front) painted on our house. And that feeling of being on high alert is back after so much progress. My parents would say history is cyclical, and we are currently in the bad bit."
She added: "We all have to get on somehow. We needed to have an honest conversation about immigration and we swerved that. And then it went underground. The stuff people were afraid to say out loud is now sanctioned. We used to be civil, now everything is allowed and celebrated. Some people who feel hard done by need to be listened to, but their frustration is being weaponised and exploited by certain public figures against immigrants."
Career and dream role
Despite her decades-long career, Dame Meera said she does not "glide in and out of jobs" and believes "there still aren't that many good roles for older women". Speaking about her dream role, she said: "A badass godmother, head of a clan or a crime syndicate. If you had met some of the badass aunties I have met you would know they could run that ship without blinking. And she would be called something you wouldn't expect, like Sweetie Auntie."
Rape Crisis runs a 24-hour rape and sexual abuse support line which can be reached in England and Wales on 0808 500 2222, Scotland on 0808 801 0302 and Northern Ireland on 0800 024 6991.
