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The actress and comedienne Meera Syal tells the new Radio Times that she contemplated an arranged marriage as a 22-year-old, when her grandfather advertised her availability in an Indian newspaper.

She also believes her TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me has changed the way Asians are perceived in Britain, adding that Asian comedy "is like Jewish humour with a sun tan".

On the arranged marriage, she says: "My grandfather put an ad in the paper and I thought, 'What have I got to lose?' It was another way of meeting a man. After a couple of proposals, I realised I have respect for the system. It works for lots of people."

Syal, who won an Asian Voice Asian Achiever Award last October, says Goodness Gracious Me "would have been unthinkable ten years ago, and probably broadcast on the 2am minority ghetto. Programme controllers used to be grossly patronising, saying to viewers, 'We're now going to tell you what Asians are like, so are you listening?' Goodness Gracious Me was unapologetic and credited the audience with intelligence.

"There's this love/hate relationship between England and India, and we could take a few liberties, like speaking Punjabi, doing humour specifically to British Asians. If the audience gets it, fantastic. If not, we've lost nothing. Ours is like Jewish humour with a sun tan - warm, family-based. We share a lot of neuroses such as food, guilt, overachieving children and controlling mothers."

She says the programme has helped to dispel some of the "ignorance" about Asian life. "You still meet those who ask if there are any good black actors, which is shocking. We're all stereotyped. Scottish actors are fed up with playing people on the dole or villains. But everything evolves. I started rebellious, and now I'm sure young Asian stars see me as part of the Establishment. At least we're now cast because we're good, not to make a political point. I'm an actor, not a social worker."

And she admits that racism "was always around" during her childhood. "At school there was name-calling, and attempts at bullying, but I was a tough cookie聟a bit of a scrapper, and usually won. I was brought up to believe the best revenge is success."

Notes to editors:
Syal appears in the new 成人论坛1 sitcom All About Me from Friday 8 March 2002 and is interviewed in the 9 - 15 March 2002 edition of Radio Times, on sale Tuesday 5 March.

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