Louis Theroux and Ruby Wax - Grounded podcast

[TeamEponine]

I've recently been working my way through the Louis Theroux Grounded podcasts. I listened to the one with Ruby Wax this weekend and it was, well, strange.

Essentially, it sounds like Ruby Wax has a big issue with Louis for doing similar style documentaries to her and then becoming very successful. The whole thing was just strange, and Louis sounded unusually awkward and uncomfortable. It made me wonder why she agreed to the interview.

Just wondering if anyone has listened to it, and what they thought of it?

I listened to it a while ago. I wasn't bothered by it. She was a little put out - I found that quite honest.

I had a bigger issue with his Miriam Margolyes interview. Such a fascinating person and he focused on sex.

I really enjoyed the interview with Boy George, Rylan, Sia and Helena BC.

I do get frustrated with Louis that he sometimes cuts the subjects off - when really I want to hear their stories. And I sometimes feel he tries to pull the interview back to himself.

Yes, the first time she mentioned it I thought the same thing - really honest and upfront to acknowledge it like that. I think it was the way she kept returning to it that started to feel a bit uncomfortable.

Not listened to the Miriam Margolyes interview yet - I had been looking forward to it.

His Grounded podcast interviews do seem a little mixed. He seems more natural around "not famous" people, perhaps.

I'm not a fan of ruby wax. About 10 years ago a local business group I was part of hired as a key note speaker at a large event. She was terrible. Mumbling, disinterested, read from a script, left early. Looking back it was probably when she was struggling with her mental health, which I have a lot of sympathy with. But as a professional she should have turned down the work rather than making a hash of it and really negatively impacting that event. She comes across as a little self absorbed. I didn't think she came across well on the pod cast either.

I think it came about from Adam Buxton’s podcast, as he interviewed Ruby Wax a few years ago. During their interview, she said how much she dislikes Louis Theroux, who is an old school friend of AB’s. It was amusingly awkward and I guess the idea for LT to interview her came from that?

I just can't quite get my head around why she agreed to do the interview. She sounded quite bitter towards the end. And Louis is usually quite self-deprecating, so inviting someone who is known to be a sort of "rival" who is bitter about your success just seems strange to me.

The podcast with his cousin, Justin Theroux, was also a little strange. It felt like just listening in on two cousins catching up. Which was kind of interesting, but strange.

I know she believed that Louis Theroux muscled in in her a shtick, years ago. I find Ruby Wax quite monstrous. Her self absorption is like a giant, gaping black hole that is quite terrifying.

I really enjoyed it. I thought it was honest and I actually think Ruby got some closure from the whole thing. I agree the MM interview was a bit seedy though. If you haven't heard the Ryland one yet that's great!

@midsomermurderess

I know she believed that Louis Theroux muscled in in her a shtick, years ago. I find Ruby Wax quite monstrous. Her self absorption is like a giant, gaping black hole that is quite terrifying.

I'm afraid I've always felt that about Ruby Wax, too.

I never found anything she did funny, and everything she did was always about her. I think people eventually realised that loud and over confident doesn't equal funny and talented.

I wonder why she agreed to the interview? Being interviewed by the person that you feel stepped over your professional "thing" was unlikely to go well, especially if you still carry lots of resentment towards them.

She was Tommy Tiernan's show on RTE in Ireland a couple of years ago, it's probably on YouTube. He questioned her about a book she had written about mental health and not with the fawning adulation she was expecting. She didn't take it well at all, it was really cringy and awkward to watch. She came across a bit ridiculous, humourless and self absorbed.

I've never heard of Tommy Tiernan and have just watched that interview on YouTube. For all I know the man might be a complete tool but I was very impressed with the compassionate way he handled Ruby when he realised how upset she was getting.

She didn't seem well (her mental health problems are well documented) and she was just unravelling during their exchange; he paused, spoke gently to her and salvaged the interview and Ruby's dignity.

Oh, I’ll have to watch that. I don’t think that Louis Theroux handled the Ruby Wax interview well, perhaps understandably.

Ruby Wax starts to really struggle at 18.50. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'm a huge fan, her book Sane New World was a massive help for me. I've seen her shows about mental health and found her funny and engaging. However, she makes no secret of the fact that whilst mindfulness helps her cope with her mental illness she still needs to take pretty strong medication to function. She's human with frailties that she dares to show to the world.

Oh how awkward! She has many talents but I do think she is very bitter and quite hard work.

The top half of her face is completely immobile. I don’t think she is actually very happy with herself

It was when the woman's mobile phone went off in the audience at 18.50 that was 'a moment'.

... and then Tiernan asks her a really hard question just as she's unsettled.

I watched her episode of who do you think you are? And she came across really well in that to me. You can see she is a real person, with real emotions and struggles just looking for a way to navigate that, we don't get enough 'realness' in the showbiz world.

She seems to blame JT for taking over her career. It’s not really true but she seems to be hanging on to that as the reason. She just fell out of favour. I can remember when she was on TV and she was hard work to watch.
I don’t know if anyone else remembered her visiting her parents and they were crazy.

I didn’t think Louis did a good interview with Ruby. He didn’t ‘get’ what she was saying - it wasn’t him but her idea of him. And he kept not getting it and going over the same painful stuff over and over.

I thought the series was a mixed bag - Miriam M I cried laughing and have listened to it a few times. Rylan was also interesting.

I thought it was really funny that she saw herself as anywhere near his league. Surely nobody else in the world would think that? She did seem really bitter.

I thought RW sounded as if she has been pretty ill on and off for much of her life and her feelings of rivalry against LT were symptomatic of her mental health struggles. I think she is unusually open about how she feels, and having had lots of therapy, is probably quite insightful into her issues. I didn't think she sounded particularly well in the podcast.

I think one has to feel compassion for Ruby. She is actually the first to admit her failings. She has a very fragile inner self and it's not surprising given how she was raised, by two traumatised parents who escaped the Nazis. Her father was tortured before he escaped. She says they were literally mad

RW was a guest speaker at an organisation I used to consult for. She was awkward, humourless and for someone discussing mental health wasn't very engaging