Louis Theroux does not mind being called a 'sex symbol'
Louis Theroux said the idea of people calling him a "sex symbol" is "nice".
Louis Theroux likes the idea of being called a "sex symbol".
The 55-year-old documentary maker has been considered a heartthrob since he shot to fame in 1998, but Louis has doubts about whether people truly believe he is a pin-up.
Louis appeared on the latest episode of Rylan Clark's How to Be Single podcast, where the 36-year-old host told him: "You're quite a lot of people's crush, and I get why because I think you're a very sexy man, Louis, I really do.
"How does it feel knowing that you're a bit of a sex symbol to quite a lot of people out there?"
Louis replied: "I don't know if that's true.
"I mean, it would be nice if that was true."
Rylan chimed in: "It is true!"
Louis continued: "I'll take your word for it. It's ... what do I do with that?
"I think it's nice to feel like it's there if you wanted it.
"I mean, really, it doesn't have any impact on my life. Like, I don't go around thinking, 'Someone somewhere might be having a Tommy Tank about me right now.'
"I don't think that."
Rylan then quipped that he would "love to know if someone had a w*** over me, why wouldn't you?"
And Louis later admitted in the podcast that it is "lovely" - in "some part" - if someone was "strumming themselves off" whilst watching one of his documentaries.
The esteemed journalist said: "If someone's really interested in me, it's almost like, 'Oh, what's wrong with them?'
"I banish that thought because I think, like, why shouldn't people be interested?
"I'm a talented documentary maker. I try not to be overly down on myself, but nevertheless, there's a knee-jerk thing.
"I think it's that thing of wanting to chase something slightly out of reach.
"And if it feels like someone's over-interested in me, it's a bit like, 'Oh, well.'
"But it's nice to know someone has had a feel.
"It's obviously not a negative. If they've been strumming themselves off while watching an old weird weekend's rerun, then there's some part of that that's obviously lovely."
As well as Louis not thinking about who admires him, the esteemed investigative journalist tries not to look himself up on the internet.
He said: "I try not to Google myself.
"I try not to read reviews or look at the notifications of the mentions on Twitter [now called X], or Instagram.
"Like, I try not to get distracted by what other - this is such a kind of, like, square answer, but genuinely, as a sensitive person, I try not to think too much."
