Heba el-Abasiry: I am optimistic about Egypt's future

Egyptian TV anchor, Heba el-Abasiry, said she is waiting for changes in the country’s media, before she seeks a opportunity with a new TV show. She said, “I have presented several TV shows where I connected with the Egyptian audiences”. She said she began her career, “through a friend who was working in advertising and film, who offered me work”.  She declined and sought to work with actress, Safaa Abu el-Saud, who is also a presenter with Arabic Radio and Television, ART. She added, El-Saud was the first person to support her in the early stages of her career. In the early days of her career within media, she presented a number of shows on Egyptian cinema, however, she said, “My style didn’t developed till I travelled to France to cover the Cannes Film Festival.  I covered the festival live, which was the hardest phase in my career.” The third stage of her career saw Heba present the “Chef Star” show, for the Indian TV Channel, MBC, which she did for 2 years. “I hosted that show for many stars that enjoying cooking for themselves; I presented this show for two years, and then I took on a project with the channel called “Life is a song She said, “When I got an offer from MBC, I preferred to join them; to reach different kind of audience, especially since MBC channels are available for more viewers, as they are not private that need subscription like ART”. It was when she undertook a project to present a political show on the channel, that she discovered her potential, and quickly moved on to the Arabic al-Hayat TV channel. Here she developed her own quiz show, called ‘Checkmate’ which sees contestants battle it out through a series of general knowledge question rounds. Talking about the crisis currently affecting Egypt, she said, “Away from political issues, I’m very optimistic about the June 30 revolution, and I feel like Egypt will be completely different country.”