Meera Syal says 'it was a bit weird' to marry her screen grandson after being cast as a a grandmother in The Kumars when she was just 40

Dame Meera Syal has reflected on marrying her on-screen grandson, after being cast as a grandmother in The Kumars At No. 42 aged just 40. 

The comedy legend, 65, played Sushil 'Ummi' Kumar in the show, which ran from 2001 to 2006, alongside her husband Sanjeev Bhaskar, 62, who played her aspiring chat show host grandson Sanjeev.

The couple tied the knot in 2005, however Meera admitted the arrangement was 'weird', saying: 'I mean, it was a bit weird that the man I would go on to marry was playing my grandson. But that's acting, isn't it? That's acting.'

Speaking on the Dish Podcast, she also reflected on her casting as a grandmother when she was just 40, saying: 'Well, I got cast, basically, in a nutshell, because the character needed a lot of improvisational skills'. 

In her chat with hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, she spoke about Sanjeev, who she met when they worked together on Goodness Gracious Me from 1996 to 2001 leading to a close friendship which evolved into romance.  

They famously got together during a flight to Australia in 2003, which Sanjeev revealing that after years of friendship, the long flight gave them the opportunity to realise there was something more between them.

They married in January 2005 in a private ceremony in Staffordshire and share son, Shaan, 20, while she has daughter, Chameli, 34, from her previous marriage to journalist Shekhar Bhatia, which lasted from 1989 to 2002. 

Of her first marriage, Meera previously revealed: 'My first marriage was semi-arranged. I mean, I chose him, we’re still really good friends and I don’t regret it because we had some good years and an amazing daughter...

'I’m sure there were whispers and gossip – I think I was the first Asian woman in our circle to get divorced.'

On her casting as a grandmother, she said: 'Well, I got cast, basically, in a nutshell, because the character needed a lot of improvisational skills...

'And they did audition much older women, you know, age-appropriate women for Aile. And they just weren't, they couldn't do the impro. Probably not in the training they had at that time. And once I'd seen the part, and I thought, this is the best part...

'This sort of hand grenade of a granny in the middle of this Indian family, who is the exact opposite of what people think old women should be...

'Provocative, mischievous, flirty. You know, internet savvy. Gets away with flirting with every male guest. Because you can, because you're a granny. And I'd be mad to turn this down.'

Elsewhere in the chat, she revealed Queen Elizabeth was a fan of the show. 

Meera said: 'She's no longer with us, but apparently, yes. And she was asked, in fact, the report, no it wasn't Sanjeev, it was a reporter who then passed it on to Sanjeev, who was interviewing her match...

'And just as a finishing question, what are you watching at the moment? What's your favourite programme? And she said, I rather like that Kumars At number 42, that old lady. She's very funny.'