Meera on Telly

I turned on the telly early tonight so I could watch the Big Brother nominations (yes, I am the one person still watching). It came on with BBC1 and 'Holby' (or 'Holby City'? not sure what it's called these days) and I thought, 'o gawd, medical drama-rama, no thank you' and was just about to turn it over when Meera Syal appeared on screen. Now, I've been an admirer of Meera for a long time so I had to keep watching...

It turns out she's a new surgeon in the hospital and she had to do an operation. Naturally there are complications and she's put in the position of letting her patient die during the operation as he requested or saving him. As a woman of conscience, she saves him and that leads to problems. Actually, I don't much care about the story, it's just that Meera is on 'Holby', a regular gig for a strong actress who will undoubtedly add depth to the series.

I met Meera a few years ago. Well, when I say 'met', I mean I was within three feet of her. She was a speaker at something or other at work and I was heading for the lift lobby I passed her coming out of the ladies, after a double-take I said 'hello' and she said 'hello' back and then I (obviously) walked to the lifts. I later found out that she was doing an 'inspirational' talk at an event. I wish I'd heard of it sooner and would have wangled an invite.

I saw Meera at the National Theatre two years ago in 'Rafta Rafta' and thought she was excellent. I'd like to see her in more theatre work.

I'm afraid that knowing Meera is in 'Holby' won't make me watch it except by accident but I'm pleased she's going to be on telly regularly again. Good on ya, Meera!