Inside I'm A Celebrity star's decades-long 'feud' with Louis Theroux
Comedian and TV star Ruby Wax once called documentary maker Louis Theroux her 'nemesis.'
Louis Theroux is beloved by viewers, but it seems he once upset I'm A Celebrity star Ruby Wax.
The comedian, 72, previously revealed she harboured some negative feelings towards the documentary maker, even effectively prohibiting her children from uttering his name, reports the Mirror.
Appearing on the podcast Dish with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett in June 2023, Ruby admitted: "He was my nemesis." She went on: "I was quite bitter and angry, and then I had to give him two BAFTAs, not one, but two, so I forbade my children to ever use the name Louis. It's forbidden."
Ruby has since admitted she got Louis "completely wrong". But what triggered it in the first place? The roots extend back to the nineties when the comedian was hosting her own interview show, When Ruby Wax Met...
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The programme showcased discussions with prominent personalities, including OJ Simpson, Donald Trump, Pamela Anderson, Madonna, and Tom Hanks, presented in her distinctively forthright style. Then, in 1998, Louis embarked on his own television journey, employing a softer interviewing technique.
Soon after Ruby's show was axed, she suggested the star had an impact on her career and was "taking food out of my mouth and my children's".
Ruby - who was an I'm a Celebrity camper last year - was able to address her frustrations after featuring on Louis's Grounded podcast, where he directly challenged her about a previous statement she'd made on another programme - that his name made her want to "vomit".
Explaining her remark, Ruby acknowledged that it was meant jokingly, and explained that she had "projected" her own professional difficulties onto him. "It's not you, Louis. I'm projecting a lot on you," she confessed. "Remember, behind these facades, there are just two human beings."
She continued: "You get in a role [where] you think 'I'm invincible, everybody loves me, I have all these viewers.' And then one day, after I did my best show, which was that race to Russia and back... after that, my career stopped, nobody would talk to me again, then all that kept going on was Louis Theroux.
"Now it pinches my heart a little bit because I was cut off from the lifeline, which was narcissism and my ego, and it was all my identity that I had. I had so much aggression and turbo in my 20s that nobody could stop me. I didn't even have talent when I started, but I was so determined... I have this drive to beat everybody because I always think people are out to get me, betrayal is a big theme in me, and failure."
Ruby has now retracted her previous remarks about Louis, recently telling The Sunday Times: "I really felt he'd stolen my career. But then I met him, and he was so generous and kind. Louis, I'm sorry. I got you completely wrong."
The documentary maker addressed her comments during the Edinburgh TV Festival, stating: "I also feel like people resenting you is kind of a compliment, not to be glib about it. I feel bad for her. I feel bad about it. And, at the same time, a little part of me is flattered that she would be so annoyed."
