Entertainment
Louis Theroux reveals why he turned down appearing on David Letterman’s show – and he regrets it-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro
Louis was approached by David’s team in 2001.
The tables would’ve been turned on Louis (Picture: BBC/Mindhouse)
Louis Theroux has revealed he has regrets over turning down an interview spot on Late Show with David Letterman.
The iconic talk show ran for nearly three decades before coming to an end in 2015, with the 75-year-old broadcaster going on to interview the likes of Kim Kardashian and Barack Obama in a new Netflix series.
And Louis, who has fronted BBC documentaries since the 90s and a movie about Scientology, was once approached by the CBS show to be one of David’s guests.
However, the 52-year-old confessed he decided not to take up the offer, a decision he now wishes he could backtrack on.
Speaking to Steven Bartlett on the latest The Diary Of A CEO podcast, Louis, who has recently interviewed Katherine Ryan in his new series, opened up about the missed opportunity.
He explained: ‘I was asked to go on David Letterman’s chat show when it was on CBS. This would’ve been in around 2001 and I said no because I thought that’s just gonna make me anxious.
Louis said he felt too ‘anxious’ to appear on Letterman (Picture: WireImage)
‘Looking back on it, I probably wish I’d done it.’
Asked by Steven why the experience would have made him feel ‘anxious’, Louis responded by saying that he initially questioned his decision about working in TV as it was a ‘bad fit’ for his personality.
David has interviewed A-listers for decades (Picture: FilmMagic)
Louis said: ‘When I first got into TV, it was like why am I doing this? This is not me. This is not what I’m cut out for. This is not something I aspire to do. The whole notion of it feels intimidating and just a bad fit.’
Fortunately, Louis got over his fear of the small screen and has been behind acclaimed documentaries in which he has met with members of the Westboro Baptist Church and the late paedophile Jimmy Savile.
Louis speaks to Judi Dench in his new interview series (Picture: BBC/Mindhouse)
In his current series Louis Theroux Interviews, he sits down for candid chats with the likes of Judi Dench, Stormzy and Bear Grylls.
The Grime star opened up about his painful split from Maya Jama, calling it ‘the biggest loss a man can have.’
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‘There were other things in terms of mistakes I’d made,’ he admitted. ‘I didn’t do what a man should do to fully appreciate, love and care for his woman,’ but added that he had learned from his mistakes and would be a better partner if love came around again.
‘Long story short, I learned that if I don’t want to feel like that again, and if I believe that God will bless me again with an amazing woman and a family and marriage and all of that kind of thing, I have to do all the necessary work to never be in that situation again,’ he said.
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