Meena Jutla is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paige Sandhu. Details surrounding her casting and Meena's characterisation were announced in September 2020 alongside that of two other new characters as part of what Emmerdale described as a "big autumn shake-up". She was introduced as the estranged sister of Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) and arrives in the fictional village with the intention of reconciling her relationship with Manpreet. Upon her casting, Sandhu described her character as irresponsible, apathetic, unreliable, wild and intelligent. Sandhu has also revealed that Meena's backstory involves her often being ignored by her parents in favour of Manpreet, which led to Meena having sex with Manpreet's husband Dennis, which led their marriage to break down, as well as her relationship with her sister. Shortly after her introduction, Meena forms a relationship with David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden). The beginning of her tenure sees her scheming to improve her relationships with David and Manpreet. Her actions included taking Rishi Sharma's (Bhasker Patel) medication so that she could rescue him, pretending to be Ethan Anderson's (Emile John) estranged mother and locking a dog in a hot car. It was then hinted by producers that a forthcoming plot would see Meena become the "forefront of really brilliant and gripping drama". It was then confirmed that she would become an Emmerdale villain in a serial killer plot. Sandhu created a backstory for her character which included killing two off-screen characters, one being former best friend Nadine Butler. Her on-screen murders include village locals Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger), Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale) and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon). Meena is known to dance and sing along to pop music before committing a crime, as well as taking keepsakes from her victims after their deaths. She also becomes involved in the aftermath of the murders in order to see the reactions from those who are mourning. In January 2022, it was confirmed that Sandhu would be leaving the role with her exit scenes airing in upcoming episodes. For her portrayal of the role, Meena won the award for Best Villain at the 2021 Inside Soap Awards. Sandhu was also nominated for Best Newcomer, as well as Meena murdering Leanna receiving a nomination for Best Show-Stopper at the ceremony. Meena has caused division in viewers' opinions since her introduction. Claire Crick of What to Watch wrote that viewers either supported Meena during her first feud or were irritated by her. After Meena becomes a serial killer, critics and viewers have praised the character and Sandhu's acting skills, with many believing Meena had become a "top soap serial killer". Duncan Lindsay of the Metro described Meena as "the most unique and entertaining soap villain ever" and admitted that he wants her to get away with her crimes due to her strong presence on Emmerdale. Many viewers have praised Meena and accredited her with being most interesting part of Emmerdale, while some have complained about the violence shown in her murderous scenes, with Ofcom receiving hundreds of complaints about her brutality. Despite criticism, Meena regularly trends on Twitter and her storyline increased Emmerdale's ratings to the point of becoming the most-watched soap opera in the United Kingdom. Fans of Meena have also called for ITV to commission a spin-off series about her, which Sandhu agreed with.