Meera Syal predicts 'bad' TV year

Meera Syal has claimed that 2009 will not be remembered as a great year for British drama.

The comedienne, who has also worked as a serious actress, said that the genre will suffer in the onset of the UK's economic crisis as broadcasters opt for cheaper reality programmes.

"Drama's been hit by the credit crunch. Reality TV or 'factual entertainment' is so much cheaper to produce," she told The Sun.

"There will always be a top one per cent of dramas that go all out with a huge cast and elaborate sets, but it's harder to get dramas out there because companies just don't have the budgets we once had.

"We were living in a golden age and now there's all this reality TV which is much less costly to put on than drama or comedy," said the 47-year-old.