Meera Syal speaks ahead of Anita and Me - which starts at Wolverhampton Grand tomorrow

Meera Syal may be best known for her work on BBC sitcoms Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars but the work closest to her heart will always be Anita and Me.

The 55-year-old's debut novel was released in 1996 and remains as popular as ever, with the semi-autobiographical piece opening at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre tomorrow and running until February 18.

The story revolves around Meena, a British Punjabi girl and her relationship with her English neighbour Anita growing up in the fictional Midland village of Tollington in the 1970s.

As well as soap star Shobna Gulati, the cast includes Burntwood actress Megan McCormick, who is reprising the role of Tracey. Meera was born in Wolverhampton to father Surendra Syal and mother Surrinder Uppal and spent her formative years in Essington, Willenhall and Bloxwich.

She studied at Queen Mary's High School in Walsall before moving away to study Drama and English at Manchester University but says home has always been the biggest inspiration to her.

She said: "When I wrote Anita and Me, I had no idea that 20 years later it would be something that had been turned into a film, performed live and become part of our culture.

"I honestly didn't see it getting read outside my circle of friends and family.

"I wrote it because I felt I had a story to tell about this rural, working class culture I was raised in which I don't think exists anymore. It has taken on a life of its own and I would say one of the proudest things for me is that it is part of the English curriculum.

"To think that a whole generation of young people are learning about the craft of storytelling through a piece of work I have written is just astounding."

As a first-generation British Indian, Meera says that she often felt like an 'outsider' and was often the only person of colour in her school and university classes.

However, says that her differences actually helped her when it came to expressing the creativity she wanted to get out to the world. The mother of two said: "I have no idea why I chose drama and English, I must have seen no more than two plays, I had no idea what I was going to do I just knew I wanted to go down that route.

"Life was so difficult for my parents and their generation, they had no time to think about being creative so part of it was that.

Meera was part of the first generation British Indian group including Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nina Wadia that rose to international popularity through Goodness Gracious Me, the BBC sketch show which was viewed by millions between 1998 and 2001. It was at this point she went from outsider to famous face.

Despite the huge popularity of the show, she says she and her fellow cast members were 'too boring' for paparazzi attention, though they did get positive feedback on the street. She said: "Most people were pretty supportive, it really felt like we were representing a generation who hadn't been represented before.

"Up to that point I think most Indian people in England had just been doctors.

"We showed that we were here to contribute to the arts in England, not just work in corner shops or restaurants."

Today, she lives a quiet life with her family in London and is currently gearing up to take to the stage in 'A Profoundly Affectionate, Passionate Devotion to Someone', which will start a short run at the Royal Court Theatre on February 28.

She will try and catch Anita and Me at the Grand during its run, saying: "I have heard that a lot of the cast are local, which is how it should be, the story was written about those people."

Megan, aged 28, who plays Sasha Locke in The Archers on Radio 4, said she was looking forward to the opening night.

"For me I am going back to the job as I was cast in the original. It has been so lovely coming back. It feels so new and fresh as well because it is a different cast. I am in love with the story and that is really important to me.

Now living in London, Megan will be starring in an upcoming film called London Fields with Billy Bob Thornton, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp and Jim Sturgess which she said was a great experience.

"Again London Fields is another adapted novel where I love the story," she added.

For more information about Anita and Me visit www.grandtheatre.co.uk