Two of the stars of the hit TV series Goodness Gracious Me are being reunited for a new four-part BBC comedy series.
Meera Syal and Kulvinder Ghir will perform in front of a live studio audience tonight to highlight the best of Asian comic talent. The actors are working on the same stage for the first time since Goodness Gracious Me went off air in 2001.
Syal is presenting the series, which explores the history and future of British Asian comedy, in which Ghir, Shazia Mirza and Edinburgh Festival winner Imran Yusuf will perform.
Ghir will introduce his new character, Mr Sagar Singh, written by Shekhar Bhatia, in a monologue that closes the show. He said: “I first performed as Mr Singh in my two shows in Birmingham and Leicester in front of 2,000 people last month and [they] seemed to like him.
“The character is a first-generation Asian businessman, who runs an East End corner shop and his ramblings are full of comedy and pathos. When I first rehearsed the piece, I burst into tears as it hit me that the story was about all us second-generation Asian people.
"It’s great to be working alongside Meera again, who has done so much to throw the spotlight on Asians in Britain.”
The four shows are due to air on BBC Asian Network in the summer.
