Meet the Author: Meera Syal

This week's Meet the Author is with Meera Syal, an actress best known for her comedy roles in Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42. She is also a screenwriter and successful novelist.

Her third novel, and first in 16 years, is called The House of Hidden Mothers, which she was inspired to write after viewing a documentary about India's multi-billion pound surrogacy industry. She describes the book as a "thriller", following the stories of two women: Shyama, a British Asian woman, who is desperate for a child and Mala, an Indian, who needs money and agrees to become a surrogate.