Meera Syal

**Meera Syal** is a British actress and comedian who portrays Verin Mathwin in Prime Video's *The Wheel of Time*, starting from the second season.

## General overview

Prior to *The Wheel of Time*, Meera Syal was known for portraying Reverend Erica in *The Sandman* (2022, 1 episode), Dr. Patel in *Doctor Strange* (2016 film), Judge Sonia Sharma in *Broadchurch* (2015, 7 episodes), and Sanjeev's grandmother Sushil 'Ummi' Kumar in *The Kumars at No. 42* (2001-2006, 53 episodes). Syal is also known as one of the creators of *Goodness Gracious Me* (1998-2015), a BBC comedy sketch series about British Asian life and culture.

Syal was listed by *The Observer* as one of the fifty funniest comedians in Britain. In 1997, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and in 2015 was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2023, while filming *The Wheel of time* season 3, Syal won a BAFTA lifetime achievement award.

Meera Syal's casting in *The Wheel of Time* was announced on October 8, 2021, but her role was not revealed for another year and a half. On May 12, 2023, it was announced that Syal would portray Verin Mathwin.

## Credits

Meera Syal appears in the following:

* *The Wheel of Time* TV series
	+ Season 2 - Verin Mathwin
	+ Season 3 - Verin Mathwin

## Quotes

> Hello #WOT family. Apparently it’s finally official and out there. Say it loud, I’m brown (Ajah) and proud! #yesImVerin #wheeloftime @TheWheelOfTime
>
> Meera Syal on Twitter after the announcement, May 13, 2023

## Gallery

Rachel Denning, Meera Syal, Katie Leung, and Rammy Park behind the scenes of season 2 episode 5, Instagram, September 29, 2023
## Trivia

* After she was announced as a cast member for Season 2, the official *The Wheel of Time* asked fans to guess what role she was playing.
	+ *WoT Up* reported that most fans speculated that Syal was playing Verin Mathwin  (*book spoilers!*).
* Showrunner Rafe Judkins teased her unknown role in a #WoTWednesday Twitter post showing the season 3 headshots of multiple cast members with their character names, but showing only Syal's photo without the character name visible.

## Navigation

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## External links

* Meera Syal at the Internet Movie Database
* Follow Meera Syal (@MeeraSyal) on Twitter

## References

1. ↑ NYCC virtual panel, October 8, 2021, stated by Rafe Judkins.
2. ↑ *Nerdist*: THE WHEEL OF TIME CONFIRMS MEERA SYAL IS PLAYING VERIN. May 12, 2023.
3. ↑ Twitter: Ceara Coveney has been revealed as our Elayne Trakand! What characters do you think Natasha O'Keeffe and Meera Syal are playing? (Hint: Rafe said they were "two of the most important characters") #TheWheelofTime October 8, 2021.
4. ↑ *WoT Up!*, New York Comicon panel announces new Wheel of Time new cast!. October 9, 2021.
5. ↑ Rafe Judkins posted a video clip on Twitter. April 19, 2023.