She takes a strict Islamic line on homosexuality - she calls it a disease.

Along with doctors, she sometimes brings Islamic clerics onto her show, and many callers ask about the religion's rulings on sexual issues.

Because Islam trumps all else on her show, some complain that it's part of a general inclination in the Middle East to view everything through the prism of religion.

"After Islamic banks, Islamic fashion, Islamic TV channels, Islamic hairdressers, Islamic swimsuits, Islamic writers ... now Islamic sex? This is too much," protested feminist writer Mona Helmi in a column in the Egyptian pro-government weekly Rose el-Youssef.

"Sex is an emotional and human condition, not a religious or identity issue," she said.

Some complain that youngsters are watching the show.

"So now girls and boys have heard all about Heba's talk about sex ... that will let them know more than they should and will get them excited," Somia, a housewife, told AP as she watched "Big Talk," too embarrassed to give her full name.

Kotb says frankness is essential and believes 80 per cent of divorces in the Arab world are due to sexual problems brought on by ignorance and societal pressure, such as the idea that man must marry a virgin.

"Many women know nothing about their bodies, not to mention sex, and they were raised to believe sex is for men and a dirty thing," she says.

She gives sex education courses for unmarried youths with the consent of their parents, but in her consulting practice takes only married couples. She says she is booked up for two months with couples from across the Arab world.

"It's a beautiful thing what she is doing," said Abier El-Barbary, a psychotherapist and faculty member of American University in Cairo. "It's a long overdue topic tastefully done," she said.

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