Laila Rouass then creative head of the channel, Shamin Desai. After moving back to the UK, Rouass became famous for playing the role of Bollywood actress Amber Gates in the cult ITV1 series "Footballers' Wives" between 2004 and 2006 and, albeit briefly, on the ITV2 spin-off series "". She also played recurring roles on the British soaps "Family Affairs" and "Hollyoaks", as well as appearing in episodes of "I Dream", "Casualty" and "Meet the Magoons". She starred alongside Meera Syal in the television adaptation of Syal's novel, "Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee." Rouass was ranked No.87 and No.69 on FHM
ITV Encore shows original drama, commissioned for the channel. This move was to attract new viewers to the channel, and to the Sky TV platform. ITV Encore ITV Encore was a British drama television channel in the United Kingdom that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was exclusive to Sky's digital satellite platform, Sky Go, Now TV, and Sky Store. The channel closed on 1 May 2018, becoming an on-demand only service available on other platforms as well as Sky. ITV Encore launched at 7 pm on 9 June 2014. The first programme to