Ruby Wax has admitted she once believed that Louis Theroux had ‘stolen’ her career.
The American-British comedian and actress, 72, began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before co-starring on the sitcom Girls on Top.
She then went on to rise to fame as a comic interviewer, presenting shows including The Full Wax, Ruby Wax Meets…, Ruby and The Ruby Wax Show in the 1990s.
However, around the same time Louis, 55, began appearing in his own documentary programmes too.
His career kicked off with Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends in 1998, followed by When Louis Met… and over 50 BBC Two specials, which began in 2003 and are still running today.
Decades on, Ruby has now revealed that she once held a strong resentment of the younger star, believing he was taking the shine off her.
At the same time, she was also dealing with issues in her personal life – which included being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and being admitted to hospital for it.
Speaking to The Sunday Times this week to promote her upcoming UK tour, Ruby explained how her new show included her playing clips of her famous TV interviews and reappraises them. She then revealed the idea was first suggested to her by her former competitor Louis.
‘Incredible, isn’t it?’ she said.
‘Just hearing Louis’ name used to make me want to throw up or punch a wall. 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.’
During an appearance on The Adam Buxton Podcast in 2019, Ruby had previously explained that she’d ‘evolved’ from her initial feelings about Louis, but that there was ‘still a little bit of anger’.
Meanwhile that same year, Louis addressed her comments and said: ‘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.’
Despite the past tension, in 2010 Ruby was a guest on Louis’ Grounded podcast, where she reflected on struggling to see her work dry up while his career had reached new heights.
While she said she didn’t hate him personally, she admitted hating ‘what you brought up, which is jealousy, envy, failure, my dad’s disapproval’.
She also added that the parallel between their careers had haunted her for decades.
‘[Your] name kept coming up over and over again, that it wasn’t even your name anymore,’ she told him.
‘If I get in a taxi, it happens maybe more than once a week. They will say to me, “Did you used to do what Louis Theroux did?” Or they say, “What happened to you?”,’ she explained.
In 2023 she also spoke about her one-sided feud with Louis, telling Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the Dish from Waitrose podcast that she even went so far as to ban his name.
‘He was my nemesis. 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,’ she said.
There were similarities with Ruby’s talk show, which ran from 1996 to 1998 and Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends, which aired from 1998 to 2000.
After her show was axed, Ruby even went so far as to say Louis was ‘taking food out of my mouth and my children’s.’
In recent years Ruby has gone on to appear in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, Celebrity Gogglebox for Stand Up to Cancer and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, as well as an episode of the Star Wars spin-off Andor.
Meanwhile Louis’ biggest projects over the past few years have included the BBC series Louis Theroux Interviews…, The Louis Theroux Podcast and his upcoming Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere, which is released in a few days’ time.
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