Linda Jones continues our weekly Funny Women column, wistfully wondering if she'll ever meet her talented near neighbour.
You've heard this theory of six degrees of separation between any two human beings (or possibly just US film actors?) right?
Well I do so like to cling on to my "almost claim to fame" where Meera Syal is concerned.
Living but a stone's throw from where Meera grew up, there's a certain inevitability about her becoming a heroine of mine. Who couldn't love her, having read the bostin' Anita and Me?
As a co-writer on Goodness Gracious Me (check out the video for just how groundbreaking it was) and brains behind the brilliant Bhaji On The Beach, she's an honest-to-goodness comedy pioneer. I wasn't so keen on All About Me but lapped up her performance in Fat Friends.
I once taught a lovely young actress who was in the screen version of Anita and Me about journalism. And I hovered in the background as her brother Rajeev did work experience with our local paper before his career soared. He had a sister on the telly, he told us. Just the other week I met Lisa Riley from Fat Friends, but any chance of meeting Meera? Sadly not, it seems.
These days my imaginary best friend is married to Sanjeev Bhaskar who plays straight man to her inspired gran in The Kumars at Number 42 where she touches up celebs like there's no tomorrow. Many a time I'd have liked to have been sitting where she was, though I would have put my legs together thank you.
Linda Jones is a director of features and PR agency Passionate Media and blogs at You've Got Your Hands Full, she once nearly moved to Meera's home village of Essington but plumped for Cheslyn Hay instead, as it's a bit posher.