Meera Syal to read CBeebies Bedtime Story for South Asian Heritage Month

The Kumars star Meera Syal is to read the CBeebies Bedtime Story to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month.

On Friday, Syal, 63, will read Amma’s Sari, a story about connection with family and the celebration of cultural heritage and diversity, at 6.50pm on CBeebies.

The story, written by Sandhya Parappukaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira, follows six-year-old Shreya, a second-generation migrant, whose life tilts between her time at home and in the outside world.

While her love for family lifts her up, her spirits plummet at the stares and whispers that her amma’s (meaning mother’s) sari attracts. Searching for balance, Shreya asks questions about her culture.

As her mother shares beautiful stories, Shreya’s internal and external struggle continues, until one day her amma’s sari saves her from being lost in a crowd and she comes to find pride in her differences.

Wolverhampton-born Syal made her breakthrough writing and starring in the BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, and starring in the comedy series The Kumars as grandmother Ummi.

She was made in MBE in the 1997 New Year Honours list and was appointed a CBE in the 2015 New Year Honours list for her services to drama and literature.

In 2023 she was awarded the Bafta Fellowship, the academy’s highest accolade for a career on screen.

Reading a CBeebies story has become a rite of passage for stars and previous readers include Tom Hardy, Jack Black, Billie Eilish, Kate Winslet and The Last Dinner Party’s Abigail Morris.

The show will also be made available on iPlayer alongside more than 300 archived stories.

South Asian Heritage Month runs from July 18 to August 17, and aims to celebrate the diverse heritage and cultures that link the UK with South Asia.