Global InformationMeena Jutla information
| Meena Jutla | |||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Paige Sandhu | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2020–2022 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 8845 24 September 2020 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 9340 18 April 2022 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jane Hudson | ||||||||||
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Meena Jutla is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paige Sandhu. Details surrounding her casting and Meena's characterisation were announced in September 2020 alongside that of two other new characters as part of what Emmerdale described as a "big autumn shake-up".[1] She was introduced as the estranged sister of Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) and arrives in the fictional village with the intention of reconciling her relationship with Manpreet. Upon her casting, Sandhu described her character as irresponsible, apathetic, unreliable, wild and intelligent. She later revealed that Meena's backstory involves her often being ignored by her parents in favour of Manpreet, which led to Meena having sex with Manpreet's husband Dennis (Sam Barriscale), which led to their marriage breaking down, as well as her relationship with her sister.
Shortly after her introduction, Meena forms a relationship with David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden). The beginning of her tenure sees her scheming to improve her relationships with David and Manpreet. Her actions included taking Rishi Sharma's (Bhasker Patel) medication so that she could rescue him and pretending to be Ethan Anderson's (Emile John) estranged mother, after which producers hinted that Meena would be at the "forefront of really brilliant and gripping drama".[2] It was later confirmed that she would become an Emmerdale villain in a serial killer plot. Sandhu created a backstory for her character which included killing two off-screen characters; her own father and former best friend Nadine Butler. Her on-screen murders include village locals Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger), Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale) and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon). Meena is known to dance and sing along to pop music before committing a crime, as well as taking keepsakes from her victims after their deaths. She also becomes involved in the aftermath of the murders in order to see the reactions from those who are mourning. In January 2022, it was confirmed that Sandhu would be leaving the role.
For Sandhu's portrayal of the role, Meena won the award for Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards twice, in 2021 and 2022, also garnering nominations for Best Newcomer, Best Show-Stopper and Best Actress. At the 2022 British Soap Awards, Sandhu won the award for Best Leading Performer, as well as receiving nominations for Villain of the Year and her serial killer storyline receiving a nod for Best Storyline. The role also saw Sandhu receive nominations at the TRIC Awards, National Television Awards, TV Choice Awards and the TVTimes Awards. Meena caused division in viewers' opinions since her introduction. After Meena is revealed to be a serial killer, critics and viewers began to praise the character and Sandhu's acting skills, with many believing Meena had become a "top soap serial killer".[3] Duncan Lindsay of the Metro described Meena as "the most unique and entertaining soap villain ever" and admitted that he wanted her to get away with her crimes due to her strong presence on Emmerdale.[4] Many viewers praised Meena and accredited her with being most interesting part of Emmerdale, while some have complained about the violence shown in her murderous scenes, with Ofcom receiving hundreds of complaints about her brutality. Despite criticism, Meena regularly trended on Twitter and her storyline increased Emmerdale's ratings to the point of becoming the most-watched soap opera in the United Kingdom. Fans of Meena, known as 'Meeniacs', called for ITV to commission a spin-off series about her and "mourned the loss of Meena" after her exit.[5]
- ^ Davies, Megan (7 September 2020). "Emmerdale announces three new characters in big autumn shake-up". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
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