27 June 1961: Born – Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England
1996 – 2001: Co-writes and stars in Goodness Gracious Me – She was on the team that wrote and performed the BBC comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
1996: Anita and Me – Awards, Betty Trask Prize and Awards
1997: Appointed MBE – She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 New Year Honours.
22 November 2002: Anita and Me is released as a film – Her novel Anita and Me was made into a film directed by Metin Hüseyin, with a screenplay by Syal herself.
January 2005: Marries Sanjeev Bhaskar – She married her frequent collaborator Sanjeev Bhaskar; their son was born the same year. Her first marriage, to journalist Shekhar Bhatia, lasted from 1989 to 2002.
2017: Elected FRSL – She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
2026: Appointed DBE – She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2026 New Year Honours, having been appointed CBE in 2015.