Submissions

I received a question a while ago, regarding the donation of screencaps and stuff like that. If you have anything Elyes related you would like to share, please register on the EGB and post your submissions there. I will be able to put them up on the blog from there on!

In the news:
Elyes is set to star in a new ITV drama, called 'Identity'. The show is going to be a six-part series and evolves around a police unit formed to combat identity-related crime. You can read the article Here

I think we can also safely say that Elyes will not be returning to Waterloo Road. There is no mention of his return anywhere as of yet, and he has been written out of the intro video, which isn't a good sign.

EGBirthday Present!

I felt so bad not giving you girls a gift for all your effort and time and patience with the EGB... And I kind of had a little inspiration for a new Special... So I went looking for some goodies, and I'm pretty sure I won't let you down! :D

Thanks to the members of Waterloo Road TV who made some amazing screencaptures. Sadly, I haven't found *the* screencap yet. I'll keep looking until I do ;)

I hope you enjoy! If anyone is a fanart maker, feel free to send in your Elyes/Rob/Guppy related stuff. I'd love to post it if you'll let me!

Three years of EGB: Come Celebrate the fandom!

I just want to give a quick shout-out to all my lovely friends on the EGB who have been celebrating the EGBirthday today! I love you all and thank you so much for not deserting the EGB when things slowed down. Life is hectic and ever changing, which takes my attention away from the thing that gave me so many friends and such a wonderful time on the net: The EGB.

I'm glad to say that it survived for it's third year, and is now swiftly moving on to it's fourth. The EGB will live on for as long as there are members, and I hope they will keep coming... Especially now that Elyes is tuning up the Gabel goodness again!

So please, come party in Gabelfan land and join in the fun! Drinks and Love Hearts on the house!

Also keep watching the blog for new colours, pictures, news, and info on the new and upcoming EGB Fan Project for mr. Elyes Gabel himself!

All the best and promise to stay on top of things more,

June

Shades - Review

Something I found thanks to Google Alert :) It's a review for the play featuring Elyes. I don't have much info on it at the moment, but it's an interesting review. Not much mention of Elyes, but worth a read.

Shades at the Royal Court, review

Alia Bano's Shades at the Royal Court, about a Muslim heroine seeking
Mr Right in London, is an entertaining depiction of Islamic
Britain.

Stephanie Street and Matthew Needham in Shades at
the Royal Court
You don't go to the Royal Court expecting a romantic comedy, but under the admirable, open-minded directorship of Dominic Cooke, anything is possible these days, and Shades turns out to be something
both special and unexpected – a Muslim Bridget Jones's Diary.

You rarely see the word Islamic these days without fundamentalist following hard behind. Alia Bano's delightful play, presented as part of the Court's Young Writers Festival, offers a much-needed reminder that not all Muslims are followers of Jihadist mullahs.

Set in present-day London, our heroine seeking Mr Right is Sabrina, a British university-educated events organiser whose family hails from the North-West Frontier in Pakistan. She shares a flat with two gay male friends (one of them a Muslim) and doesn't wear hijab.

We first encounter her at a Muslim speed-dating evening (I certainly had no idea such events existed) where Sab, who already hears the ticking of the biological clock, is hoping to find the man of her dreams, or at least a man with a brain and a pulse. And in the course of the play she finds that she has to choose between the plausible, superficially sophisticated Ali, and the more devout and traditional Reza.

Sabrina's gay friend Zain delivers some provocative rants about those he calls the fundos – not least his view that Islamic extremists are largely driven to murderous violence by thwarted sexuality. But in the character of Reza, Alia Bano draws a much more sympathetic picture of a devout Muslim, who has no time for violence and wishes to be regarded as both English and a follower of Islam.

Such analysis, however, makes the play sound far more solemn than it is. As the characters set about organising a charity fashion show for Gaza, and the devious Ali attempt to put the mockers on burgeoning romance, the play proves delightfully fresh, funny and touching, as well as a genuine eye-opener into the different attitudes of British Muslims.

Nina Raine's lively production, wittily designed by Lucy Osborne on a fashion-show catwalk, can't quite disguise the fact that the plotting is a touch schematic, but the show's breezy humour and generosity of spirit make ample amends.

Stephanie Street gives a delightfully engaging performance as the confused heroine whose attitudes and emotions are constantly challenged, while Amit Shah brings both troubled decency and a lovely touch of sly humour to the role of Reza. There is outstanding support, too, from Navin Chowdhry as Sabrina's outrageous gay friend, from Matthew Needham as his likeable English boyfriend, and from Elyes Gabel as the creepy villain of the piece.

Shades proves a feelgood gem of a rom-com, deftly combining an insider's revealing insight into Islamic Britain with cracking entertainment values.

Tickets: 020 7565 5000
Telegraph Rating: ****

Waterloo Road!

Just a quick note from me. I just got reminded thanks to an add on the BBC, but Waterloo Road is coming back this Wednesday at 8.00 pm! It should feature Elyes and Luke Bailey (Sam from Casualty). Make sure you catch it!

Other than that I want to wish you all a very happy new year! All the best and I hope it will be a great year for all.

I hope we can expect more music from Elyes this new year, and hopefully the release of Boogeyman 3. I'm not expecting too much of that, but I still want to see it!

If I have the time I'll get up an Episode Review for the episodes of Waterloo Road that feature Elyes. I'm still really busy, but I'll do my best!

Best wishes to you all,

June

The Young Controller

That's right. Yet another news update, and this time I'm right on it.

If you're on myspace and are indeed befriended with Elyes, you might've noticed that the great Mr. Gabel himself posted a bulletin to his friends on Thursday. This, to those who didn't see it, is what it said:

From: Elyes Gabel
Date: 04 Dec 2008, 15:27
Subject: Change Again
Body:

Hi Guys,
Hope you're all well.
I know it seems like I can't half decide what profile page to remain with;
so just to carry on tradition i've opened up a new one for my music-It's called
the young controller and it's on my top friends list on my profile.
Inevitably there's going to be question; so i'll answer as best i can now.
The reason for the change of name is to try and put a bit of distance between
myself as an actor; and a musician- So that they're looked at in their own
right.
I still value your support though; so in turn want to make you aware of the
change.
Right then, have a listen to another rough demo on the young controller
page and see what you think.
It's different.
And add me!

Cheers
el
x

Isn't that nice? So make sure you head over there by
Clicking Here and:
a) Add him to your friends if you're on Myspace
b) Listen to his new song called 'Why should I'!

And that song; It certainly is different. Tell me what you think in the comments, and I might even add a poll! I'd also love to hear your comments on the new name, do you like it and do you think there is any meaning behind there?

Excuses, Apparitions and more excuses

Hello everybody!

A quick note from me after a long day of college. I was just casually going through the tv guide, when I noticed Apparitions is on again tonight.
And I got painfully reminded of my ignorance and lack of posting Gabelfanland news. So I figured it was pretty much now or never, and I opted for the now, simply because I owe it to each and every one of you.
Here's my story. Run if you still can.

I started the Elyes Gabel Board 2 1/2 years ago, with the intention to get together as many fans as I could find. I was sad that there wasn't any kind of appreciation towards this great guy of an actor (and musician nowadays), and I wanted to put an end to that.
I posted and worked on the board and made friends and had fun. We shared our problems and talked about everything Casualty.
I always ment for the EGB to be forever, no matter what. I would even pass it on to a new owner if I had to. I wouldn't stop it.
It went pretty well for those 2 1/2 years, even when Elyes left Casualty I managed to keep up with the little news that came in.
But then came one of the biggest moments of my life; College. Suddenly I was rushed into this whirlwind of crazy schedules and mad assignments and big projects. I had silly hours in college and then there was my saturday job to juggle around aswell.
I'm glad to say I survived the first exams, but now there's even more to worry about. I've got three days of college, work experience, my job on saturday and homework.
And as if I'm not busy enough, I'm attempting another year of NaNoWriMo. You won't be blamed if you call me insane. I pretty much am.
But even my writing had to take a backseat, no matter how determined I was. I just can't work it all out in the same time, and less important things need to wait.

And so my inner fan left Gabelfanland for a while, completely ignoring my responsibilities as your source of Elyes goodies. My sincere apologies.
I don't want to tell you all this just to complain or tell you how sad I am (believe me, I'm not. I'm still a happy person and I love what I'm doing), I just wanted to but everything in perspective. We all know how it goes in life, things start happening and you have to make room for those things to work.

But enough about me now. The most important message of the blabbing above is that I want to try and keep up with everything that comes in, and I will try to post whenever needed. I don't want to promise anything, because I know how that goes ;) But I'll try my hardest!

***

Now on to the more important things: Elyes Gabel.

The man himself. I truly hope you all realised that Apparitions starring Elyes was on last week on Thursday!! If you didn't, you can still catch it on iPlayer tonight, but I bet you can find it to download somewhere.
If I find the time I might scurry around on the internet and try to find some clips to share with you guys!
The new episode is on tonight at 9.00 pm, but this time without Elyes. I will be back soon with a summary and episode review of the entire thing! Hopefully around sunday, just prod me until I post!

Then there's something else I just found out about: "Dead Set" is Elyes's new project. A short summary:

During a fictional series of Big Brother, a zombie outbreak occurs, but the
house-mates are unaware of the impending doom outside of the Big Brother House.

He plays Danny in the entire five episodes. I'm going to look into it when I'm not as tired as I am now, because I will mess up now.

Boogeyman 3 news is on it's way too, just keep watching this spot!

New Music & Live dates!

I bet it's because I've started college, because I've been so busy I haven't been able to keep up with everything. There's a big stream of Elyes news coming in all of a sudden (well, relatively big, compared to what we're used to; one message per few months).

Anyway, I received this bulletin on myspace:

From: Elyes Gabel

Date: 03 Sep 2008, 01:18

Subject: New Song and Live Dates

Body:
Hi guys.

Got another very rough song on here. They're all rough sketch
songs.....Loads of excuses i know.

Also got a couple of live dates in the north this weekend.

Hope you're all well.

Thanks again for the support.

El

If you check his Myspace Page you'll find the new song. There are also live dates noted on there, both for tomorrow:

Upcoming Shows

6 Sep 2008
16:00
Love
Music Hate Racism
Rotherham

6 Sep 2008
22:00
Religion
Night Club
Leeds

That's it for today. If I have time some day in the future, I might start working on the lyrics and expand our Elyes fancommunity!

Elyes for a Good Cause!

And yet again, there's news in Gabelfan Land!

First of all, Elyes is part of a group who have recorded a single against knife crime.

A few articles about the project:

Charity song in anti-knife campaign
Aug 26, 2008
Actors and sports stars have come together to record a rap to discourage young people from carrying knives.
The collaboration, UK Flow, is led by Sheffield-based actor and singer Stephen Nicholas, who wrote the track called Don't Carry Knives. Nicholas got the idea for the song after hearing about the many deaths from stabbings across the country.
Joining Nicholas at Yellow Arch studios in central Sheffield were world champion boxer Johnny Nelson and Hollyoaks star Lee Otway.
Girls Aloud and players from the England football and rugby squads have also
given the project their support.

You can find the article Here

The collaboration, under the name UK Flow, includes Casualty actors Luke
Bailey and Elyes Gabel, and is backed by Richard Caborn MP, Girls Aloud and
England football and rugby stars.

You can find the full article Here

Then there's the group's Facebook Page and Myspace Page, both including a picture of Elyes. As said on their Facebook page, the group (I'm not sure if it's in it's entirity, but I would think so) is performing at the Love Music Hate Racism Concert on the 6th of september. They're supporting the Kaiser Chiefs.

Then there's the other thing. Remember our previous speculation about the picture from Waterloo Road's new series? I think I can confirm that it is in fact Elyes on that picture.

Taken from the UK Flow Facebookpage:

ELYES GABEL- Casualty and now Waterloo Road. Elyes is a active campaigner
against Knife Crime.

Isn't that awesome? There's something we can look forward to!

Helloooo Winter, do You feel it?

No really, not really feeling winter just yet. Summer is warm now, shouldn't complain.

So... There's Elyes news again :D I wouldn't have seen this if it hadn't been for Saira, but Elyes posted a new bulletin on Myspace! Check it out:

From: Elyes Gabel
Date: 22 Jul 2008, 12:27
Subject: Rough
Songs

Body: Hey Guys and Dolls! I've been busy on other work stuff; but got a bit
tired of waiting to record some stuff proper.....So i just put two simple one
track 'hashes' together. They're untouched and rough as a bag of nails but have
a listen.Hope you're all well.

Cheers
El

The new songs can be heard Here

They're really lovely and oh my I didn't see that before but the picture for 'Shame on You' is really creepy O_o

Anyway, go check it out!

Also, really, really really this time, the Elyes Gabel Fan Project will be on it's way. Unless I won't start it untill I go to college and then I'll be too busy. But I'll try my best. At least now we've got more music to talk to him about :)

Any suggestions for the project, please mail me!

It's all getting official in Gabelfan-land

Well, hello. It's been a while, hasn't it? You'd probably be happy to hear that there is actually News in Gabelfan-land. Big news. And a big questionmark raising over our heads as a new picture is revealed...

Straight to the more official news first:
Elyes is officialy staring in Boogeyman 3 as Jeremy. It's in post-production, and set to be released in 2009. This can still change though, as nothing is ever certain in the post-production stage. He is part of the supporting cast.

***Spoilers ahead***

I have found the following info for you from Joblo.com:

When college sophomore Sarah Morris witnesses the alleged suicide of her
roommate, it sets into motion a series of horrific events that cause Sarah to
fear the supernatural entity known as The Boogeyman. As she tries to convince
the rest of her dorm that the Boogeyman does exist, the evil force grows
stronger and her friends begin to pay the price. Now Sarah must stop this
ultimate evil before the entire campus falls prey...

And a little info about Elyes's character Jeremy, from Moviehole.net :

[ JEREMY ] appears to be 20 years old, OPEN TO ALL ETHNICITIES, a skinny, shaggy haired alterna-rocker, boyfriend to Lindsay. Following Sarah's visit to his dorm room, in which she shares Dr. Allen's theories on the Boogeyman, Jeremy discovers Lukas missing and the bong he was smoking from earlier smashed into pieces. Jeremy quickly becomes another victim to the Boogeyman. SUPPORTING

So that's something to look forward to. Sort of.


Then there's this:

I received an email from Mary-Kate, telling me that pictures from the 4th season of Waterloo Road had leaked out (see above), and that the third person from the left looks a lot like Elyes. Coincidence, or is it really him? That's what we'd like to find out.

Looking closely and zooming in, I'd say it could well be him. There is no official record of his part in Waterloo Road just yet, but as it is being filmed, there probably wouldn't be any anyway.

So what we want is your opinions. Is it Elyes on the picture?

I'll keep you posted on news and updates, and let's hope it is him, and we'll get some Elyesness in a few months :)

That's all from me.

New Elyes Picture!

This is just awesome. Two updates in two days. This update is more spectacular and better than yesterday's though.

Not only did we get a message, oooh no.

We got a new Elyes picture! It's all black & white and lovely.

I got the picture off his Myspace page

The picture does not belong to me, I didn't take it and I take no credit for it. It is in no way my property. If there is any objection to my posting this image here, I will delete it if asked.

Just so you know :)

Elyes music news in Elyesland!

Yep, it's that time again. There's news!

Well, not news-news. It's not news in the sense that there's is anything actually happening, but it's the pre-news to the upcoming news that will hopefully soon come.
It's a bulletin from Elyes!
I received it this afternoon (just like all those other Elyes-friends on Myspace). And just because I'm so nice, I'm going to post it here for you all non-myspacers to read.

From: Elyes
Date: 17 Mar 2008, 14:08
Subject: Cha޲nge޲
Body:
Hi guy޲޲s.޲

Hop޲e all޲'s wel޲l.

Jus޲t a sho޲rt not޲ice޲ to let޲ you޲ all޲ kno޲w i'm޲ tur޲nin޲g
thi޲s spa޲ce off޲ and޲ goi޲n at it 'bu޲sy sty޲le'޲ on the޲ mus޲ic pag޲e..޲.th޲e
one޲ wit޲h the޲ sun޲ris޲e pic޲tur޲e on the޲ pro޲fil޲e.

It'޲s

mys޲pac޲e.com޲/el޲yes޲gab޲el

so add޲ tha޲t one޲ yes޲ ple޲ase޲...޲..

Bes޲t

El

Short, but informative, right? That's what I thought anyway. Plus, it's the pre-news what will hopefully lead to more music!

Then there's this:

Rumours. There are rumours floating about that Elyes has a part in Boogeyman 3. We have no confirmation of this and there are no official articles to support this information. So don't get your hopes up just yet.

Renewed EGB

Good day to all :)

Just thought I'd tell all you faithful readers that the EGB has been renewed, and has now been updated. It's got a whole new look and everything!

Next to that, we've also got ourselves a guestbook! Make sure you leave a message and tell me what you think of the blog and the EGB!

In Elyes news:

As we all know, Elyes has a guest role in Apparatitions, which will be broadcast somewhere around March. Apparitions was supposed to be a two-parter, but has now been commisioned by the BBC as a longer series!
There is no word about Elyes becoming a regular, so don't jump to any conclusions, but you never know!

Here's the Press Office release.

Happy New Year!

I just want to say that I hope you've all had a great New years Eve, and all have a very happy, healthy, Elyes-filled, awesome New Year! 2008 is set to bring us Apparitions, which should be good, hopefully more music, and I hope that everyone just has a great year :)

The other thing: I'm sort of considering doing a new fanmail project for Elyes. Interested? Visit the EGB!

That's pretty much it, best wishes to all of you!

Take it Easy!

I mean that in both ways. Because once you've seen it, you will have to Take it Easy. You might faint, after months and months with a lack of Guppyness. No screentime, just one song.
I mean, yes, we've all played it over a hundred times and now the lyrics by heart (or is that just me?), but it's not enough, is it?
And now, finally, I've got something for you. You can read it a dozen times, print it and drool over it. Hang it above your bed, or simply use it as a background for your computer.
Whatever you wish to do with it, it is great, and a definite must-read.

Presenting to you: The Take It Easy article with an interview with Elyes. With many thanks to shelliwood!

This should do the trick. They're also uploaded to the EGW Photo Album, which you can go to by clicking Here

And here's the entire interview to read:

I'm not running away from acting, I'm just trying something else!

After three explosive years Casualty's Dr Guppy Sandhu's leaving the show. So what's next for actor Elyes Gabel, 24?

Guppy's had some great storylines, including his current battle against a cocaine addiction. So why did you decide to leave the show?
I just felt that it was best to finish on a high. In any programme you go through peaks and troughs in terms of storylines and I've had some great ones. But it was never my intention to stay in the show for a silly length of time. Plus I think it's better that they get new blood coming in, both for the benefit of the show and for myself. I just knew that I really wanted to do something else.
That said, to be the same character for three years is a testament to how much I cared about the show and the character.

I understand you're planning to pursue a musical career...
Yes, although I'm not sure who I'd compare myself too. But it's guitar-based, funky, folk.

Will we see you on screen again?
Yes, I'm still in the fray. I'm not running away from acting. I'm just trying something else as well.

Are you pleased with your exit?
I enjoyed the last episode because it was a long burner. A lot of the time you just jump in and out of storylines. And I think that the writers gave me the chance to run with it in the end - especially in the last episode. I was very grateful for that.

Has the door been left open for you to return to the show?
Never say never...

You were in the 20th anniversary special, which was filmed in Cambodia. How was that?
It was good fun, hard work though. The people were incredible. They had a lot of pride and dignity. We weren't shooting in the big cities - we were in rural farming areas - and the one thing that struck me was the kids. When you don't realise what you're missing you play with what you have. The lack of technology... it was almost to their benefit. These people were just very happy and there was a lot to be learnt over there. It's good to get a different aspect, a change of scenery.

Did you 'find yourself out there?
I definitely think that there's scope for doing that. But I'm not going to say that I came back wanting to be a poet or anything!

Dr Guppy was beaten by racist thugs in the show. Have you experienced racism yourself?
You always experience a certain amount of bigotry no matter who you are, whether it's subtle or unseen... You just need the strength to deal with it.
It's definitely a big issue for me. There are people that look at you superficially and just see coloured skin. It's ridiculous and it does get to me. That said, I haven't experienced it a great deal. I was born here -1 lived in Canada for a bit - but I've definitely got more of a root here.

Do you feel a responsibility representing Asian characters like Guppy on screen?
I've got a very mixed race background so, although I'm not actually Asian myself, I've got distant touches of Indian in me. That's quite an interesting point - you will be more likely to take on Asian roles because that's the demographic here.
I think you have a responsibility to represent the storyline in the best way that you can. Because you're almost representing someone else who's been through that. The letters I received from people who'd been through it themselves... that definitely gave it a lot more importance.

In the past you dated Sarah Barrand, who played Shannon in Footballers'Wives. Is it easier to go out with someone who is also in the public eye?
It depends. It's different from person to person because different people have different personalities.

Are you seeing anybody now?
Sort of... But I can't say who. It's pretty early days but it is going well.

Do you get any strange fanmail?
You do get strange fanmail sometimes. I've been trying to plough through a lot of mail recently because I didn't get the chance while I was still filming. I try to respond to them all - especially if they're quite personal letters. Anything where you think that they've taken quite a lot of care and attention to write it.

How do you stay looking good?
I'm quite a sporty person so that helps. And I go to the gym a lot.

What do your family think of your success?
They're very proud of me and they're behind me 100 per cent. But they know it's a very tough business. They're pleased for me when things are going right - and there for me when things aren't going well. None of them are in the industry.

So what made you want to act?
Moving around a lot as a kid, I had to adapt to different cultures. So it was an easy thing for me to do.

Have you got lots of spare time now you've finished filming?
No, I've been really busy prepping something that I'm shooting soon, plus I'm recording stuff and I took a little while off. I'm moving, too.

Can you tell us about that new project?
It's a pilot - it's called Apparitions and I'm a guest star on it. It's quite dark, about exorcism and demons.

Who will you miss most?
I couldn't say one person. I think they're all great. Most of them I had a great relationship with. That happens when you're on location. I'll miss a hell of a lot of them.

Have you got any gigs lined up yet?
I haven't got that lined up yet. It's quite a saturated market. But trust me they're coming!

---

So, we have now learned that Elyes hasn't got any gigs lined up yet, isn't going to become a poet (shoot, I was so hoping for that to happen...), he had a (sort of) girlfriend at the time (that doesn't mean now, though, remember: this article is from the 16th of September) and his family is proud of him. Oh, and he tries to answer to every fanmail thing he gets.

So who's up for another EGB fanmail project?

Hope you enjoyed the article, it was good being able to post something for you again. Also, I hope you all had a very merry christmas, and all the best for the new year!

Shame on You

Really, though, Shame on You.

Finally, we get a first taste of what Elyes' music is like. Just go check it out on his Myspace page

I will be back shortly (probably tomorrow or something), and I'll try to get the lyrics from the song written down and posted somewhere. I'm so excited! Now go listen! Quickly!

*squee*

New project!

And here was me thinking I wouldn't have anything to tell you for a while. Well, apparantly, I was wrong.

Elyes has a new part in the two-part supernatural thriller for the BBC, with lead actor Martin Shaw. The thriller is called Apparitions and is currently being filmed in Liverpool. The two-parter is set to air on BBC 1 in early 2008.
Click Here for the article.

We will obviously keep you up to date on changes and news regarding Apparitions.

EGB has moved!

Here's a quick update on some stuff that's been going on:

For one thing, sorry I didn't post the Episode Reviews. Life has been hectic with school and everything.. I failed, and I'm sorry. I will post the last Episode Review, though :)

Secondly, the Elyes Gabel Board has moved! We have a new home at over at shelliwood! Go check it out! Here! Go join now and show some love!

More stuff will come later!

Poll Results: Will you keep watching Casualty?

The results for the poll are in:

Seventeen of you voted, and 58% of you think that it won't be the same, but that you will keep watching.
23% of you isn't sure, whilst 11% will definitly keep watching. A mere 5% (meaning 1 out of 17), won't be watching anymore.

I, for one, will keep watching, even though it will indeed not be the same.

One of the reasons I entered this poll was because I wanted to see how many of you are willing to keep watching, even though Elyes is leaving. It turns out, many of you are. It's also because I'm trying to work out how to change the board, what to keep and what to delete.

After Elyes's departure, the EGB will undergo a complete transformation, with new categories and things like 'Casualty Chat' being deleted. This is only because Casualty won't be a part of Elyes anymore. We can always carry our Casualty discussion forward in the TV section..

That's all..