London, Jan 3 : Brit comedian Meera Syal has warned that this year's recession could hit quality drama really bad, as more TV chiefs are opting for cheaper reality shows.

The Kumar's star found good dramas being replaced with cheaper ones a shame, although she does acknowledge that bosses had to do so in order to survive the credit crunch.

"Drama's been hit by the credit crunch. Reality TV or `factual entertainment' is so much cheaper to produce," the Sun quoted her as saying.

"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," she added.

Syal, 47, also fears that her BBC show Beautiful People, which is about a Reading lad trying to escape his dysfunctional family, may get shelved despite good ratings.
(ANI)