As Ruby Wax storms the I'm A Celebrity jungle with her trademark larger-than-life personality, fans are rediscovering the American-British comedian's long-running professional clash with fellow broadcasting icon Louis Theroux.
The Roots of the Rivalry
The 72-year-old star, who found fame in the 1990s with her BBC show When Ruby Wax Met, has openly expressed frustration about Theroux's career trajectory mirroring her own. During her peak years, Wax interviewed high-profile figures including OJ Simpson and Donald Trump, establishing a distinctive, witty interviewing approach that became her signature style.
Louis Theroux, now 55, rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with his immersive BBC documentaries, particularly Weird Weekends. His quirky, on-the-ground approach to interviewing and ability to immerse himself in unusual situations drew comparisons to Wax's work, creating what she perceived as direct competition.
Public Expressions of Resentment
In a revealing 2019 appearance on the Adam Buxton podcast, Wax didn't hold back when asked about the tension between them. She responded: "I knew you were going to say that. Can we not discuss it? Everything we did, he took. I've moved on. I have a new career but if you say that word [Louis] to me, I'll vomit."
She added: "I've evolved but there's still a little bit of anger," indicating that while she had attempted to move past the rivalry, residual bitterness remained.
The timing of their career peaks added fuel to the fire, with Ruby's talk show running from 1996 to 1998 and Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends airing from 1998 to 2000. Following the cancellation of her programme, Wax even claimed Theroux was "taking food out of my mouth and my children's," highlighting the personal financial impact she felt from his success.
Attempts at Reconciliation and Ongoing Tension
In a surprising turn of events, Wax appeared on Theroux's BBC Grounded With podcast in 2020, where she somewhat clarified her previous comments. She explained that she had watched his work the morning of their recording and acknowledged: "It's not you, it's what you brought up which is jealousy, envy, my failure, my dad's disapproval... It's my reality."
She continued: "This morning I did look, I see what you're doing. It's great. You're good, it's what I should've been doing. Except I came out of Girls On Top, I was a persona – that's how I made my money."
Perhaps most telling was her revelation about how frequently their careers were compared in public. "[Your] name kept coming up over and over again, that it wasn't even your name anymore," she told Theroux. "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?'"
The resentment reached such levels that Wax admitted on the 2023 podcast Dish with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett that she had banned Theroux's name in her household. "He was my nemesis," she declared. "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."
As Ruby Wax navigates the jungle dynamics on I'm A Celebrity, where she's already forming unexpected alliances with younger influencers Aitch and Angry Ginge, viewers wonder whether new rivalries might emerge. For now, however, her historical friction with Louis Theroux remains one of television's most intriguing behind-the-scenes conflicts.
