My status in our family is equivalent to the mice under our floorboards. If there’s an argument going and my wife Nancy is talking to one of my kids and I weigh in, the kids’ response will usually be: “Shut up Dad, no one asked you.” Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him. As The Guardiansaid in its review of the documentary, it is a “sad portrait of a very different California”, contrasting any ideas of the picture-perfect California portrayed in regular media. This pattern of gritty and realistic portrayals crops up again and again in Theroux’s work. He is unafraid of difficult subjects which, as in the case of The City Addicted to Crystal Meth, often makes for uncomfortable viewing. Shedding light, however, on these difficult and challenging stories is what leads to Theroux’s impact and popularity. In the film, Savile actually hints at his disturbing secret life, and tells Theroux: ‘We live in a very funny world. And it’s easier for me, as a single man, to say “I don’t like children”, because that puts a lot of salacious tabloid people off the hunt.’

Welcome to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, Grounded podcaster and best-selling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger.... Although initially resisting the idea of going into journalism. "All my friends were writing, and I wanted to be different." Louis found a job on a local paper in the sprawling city of San Jose, "a town where nothing ever happens." A year later he went to work for the New York-based satirical magazine, Spy, where "When I asked some rappers to freestyle on gun safety, one of them threatened to beat me up." Come round to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, podcaster and bestselling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger . . . Although, you think ‘well, why is that a secret?’ But what I found was that the family found me quite irritating, and found me doing them annoying. I don’t know why the vision of a 51-year-old man in tight underpants sweating onto the carpet, and grunting, would not be something you’d want to see in your front room. ‘I don’t know why the vision of a 51-year-old man in tight underpants sweating onto the carpet, and grunting, would not be something you’d want to see in your front room.’

Games

There was a weird bittersweetness in revisiting the events of the past few years and Louis speaks at length about his frustration throughout the whole ordeal and we see how communication breakdowns and unhealthy habits are facilitated by a removal of what we both know to be his purpose in life, to date. Adjusting to life certainly looked very different for Louis and whilst I don’t think his reflections on this period came off as gloating they could definitely sound a bit insensitive at times to people who worked in PPE day to day and weren’t able to have as many enjoyable moments. thoughtful and witty comments from louis on his personal and work life, as well as the silly goofy louis we know and love🤪

For me, what is so unique about Louis Theroux’s body of work is its multi-faceted nature. As part of our PSE curriculum, I watched part of The Most Hated Family in Americain school. I chose to finish watching the documentary at the end of the school day, something I had never done for similar documentaries from school before. Released in 2007, The Most Hated Family in Americafollows the family behind the Westboro Baptist Church, a fundamental Baptist community in the US which broadcasts and promotes hate speech against minority groups. I enjoyed his relaying of his conversations with his youngest son, Ray. Ray comes acorss as precocious, clever, fun and something of a handful. However, Louis' descriptions of Ray's very frequent ipad use and a few references to outbursts that Louis and his wife, Nancy, struggled to cope with, concerned me. They really hammered home the concerns that many parents must have about the behavioural and developmental impacts of the pandemic on young children. going to dive straight into this read!! it was brill. I loved louis theroux’s reflective tone, splashed with humour and revelations that were completely therapeutic to me😌 What I’d love my obituary to say is: “The world of television is in mourning as news comes that esteemed documentary maker Louis Theroux died in the arms of his wife Nancy Strang on holiday in Crete while eating a slap-up meal of Korean delicacies including snails, fava and copious amounts of retsina.” What it will probably say is: “Forgotten BBC2 journalist, Louis Theroux, the man who failed to get to the truth about Jimmy Savile, died while crossing the road.” But it stands for I suppose TV in general, of which I watched quite a lot. Strictly, which I would watch on a Saturday, Succession or Barbarians or White Lotus. Some of it was Tiger King, a lot of it was other series. The Last Dance, did you see that? That was a good series on Netflix, about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. #1 - NancyIn 1995, Louis developed his own Weird Weekends and produced a critically acclaimed documentary series premiere. As Theroux describes, " Weird Weekends sets out to discover the genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting. To me, it’s almost a privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to shine a light on them and, maybe, through my enthusiasm, to get people to reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them. I don’t have to play up that stuff. I’m not a matinee idol disguised as a nerd." The book is also a whistle-stop tour of world events during this period, some of which made me laugh out loud all over again (Four Seasons Landscaping anyone? 😂). On graduating, Louis decided to spend some time in the States. His summer break got longer and longer. "I didn’t have a job lined up in England and I felt that at least by being in America I was broadening my mind." Marcel had just completed a post-graduate degree at Yale, so Louis stayed with him. "I did menial work to make money and spent two months with a glass blower who made unbelievably tasteless gilded cherub goblets. the reality is that Covid is going to be with us for a long long time and we’re going to have to live with it…’” Louis also describes how he launches his podcast, Grounded, finally gets to the US to film a new Tiger King documentary and aims his sights on the latest incarnation of the far right in a world becoming radicalised by social media. Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him.

Being a diary, the nature of the writing is a blend of the confessional mixed with self-analysis. Many times throughout, Theroux wonders if he’s overdoing the booze, or maintaining a healthy enough connection with his wife, Nancy, or if his career is going in the right direction. I think I didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have if I hadn't just read Miriam Margolyes autobiography, which is an absolute gem and is the best autobiography I've read since Moab is My Washpot by Stephen Fry, Myriam blends a wonderful amount of personality, stories about her relationships and friendships, anecdotes about fellow actors and celebrities, funny, poignant stories and political commentary. It infuses my whole sense of self, the idea that I’m at leisure whatever may be happening. Or better off, I’m not in work mode, right? And that’s a nice thing to feel. #5 - Cooking Louis (Sebastian) Theroux was born in Singapore in 1970. His father, the American novelist and travel writer, Paul Theroux, met his mother, who worked for the V.S.O., in Uganda. Louis’ older brother Marcel Theroux was born in Kampala, "so as children we sort of globe trotted." But his father decided to buy a family home in England, and they settled down in a big, rambling, dilapidated house in Wandsworth, South London. Louis went to Westminster School and then gained a First Class Degree in History at Oxford University. Theroux’s documentary presented a different angle on the group, taking viewers inside the inner workings of the family over the course of the first documentary and its two follow-up episodes. Attracting 19% of 1 April 2007’s viewership, the documentary was re-broadcast three days later and only gained more traction in the coming years. Watching the three documentaries myself, I found myself invested in this insane and disturbing group. Following some of the younger family members as they managed to escape and defect,Theroux’s work is gripping, grounded and unique. In the words of my ‘Theroux enthusiast’ pal, “the one about the church” is one of the best.

Louis also describes how he launches his podcast, Grounded , finally gets to the US to film a new Tiger King documentary and aims his sights on the latest incarnation of the far right in a world becoming radicalised by social media. Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him. I wanted to get the goods on Savile. The trouble was, I had no clear sense of what those goods were.’ Come round to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, podcaster and best-selling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger.... The dark rumours – of sexual deviance, of being unemotional, of having a morbid interest in corpses – were one of the reasons I’d taken him on as a subject. The pandemic has been a moment to pause and reset. I’ve had a sense of resetting my place in the world, with respect to my family and my work. I’ve been at home much more than normal, and for all the stress and the arguments and everyone getting very frayed at the edges, it’s felt like a blessing.