CAIRO - Celebrated Egyptian TV talk show host Hala Sarhan returned to Egypt on Saturday night, after spending four years out of the country in Dubai, the UAE capital, to which she fled after jailing for distorting Egypt's name. When she appeared with the Egyptian flag wrapped round her body at the Cairo Airport, many celebrated friends rushed forward to greet her. "The Egyptian revolution has helped me to return Egypt," she said upon arrival. Hala left Egypt in 2007 after being heavily criticised over an episode of her popular programme ‘The Hala Show', aired on the Saudi-owned Rotana TV, dealt with the topic of prostitution in Egypt. Many conservative Egyptians alleged that Hala was discrediting Egypt by discussing this taboo subject. It was also alleged that she hired ordinary girls (who weren't prostitutes) to appear on the controversial episode, pretending that they were prostitutes and telling Hala about their so-called experiences. After appearing on Hala's show, watched by millions of people, these girls felt ashamed about what they had done and told their story to another talk show. Feeling pressurised by what she described as a lack of media freedom in Egypt, she then left the country. A legal court sentenced her to jailing over the episode. Hala, who is also a journalist, has worked for many magazines and satellite channels such as the Saudi-owned Arab and Radio TV (ART), where she presented talk shows. She also headed privately owned Egyptian Dream 2, where she presented ‘Fi el-Mamnou', one of the first political programmes on Egyptian satellite TV. Now back in Egypt, Hala plans a TV return with a new talk show.
