Ruby Wax has accused the BBC of ageism in a new interview, claiming they axed her TV series, Ruby Wax With…, when she turned 50.
The comedian accused the broadcaster of not allowing women of a certain age to host chat shows after they pulled the plug on the series in 2003, which saw her interview the likes of Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey.
Following the show’s axing, Louis Theroux’s docuseries took over her slot.
Talking on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories, the TV star was asked by Garraway: “So why did the television shows dry up?”
To which the 70-year-old claimed: “Because I turned 50 and that’s not allowed.” Responding, the ITV host asked: “So it was an age thing?”
Wax replied: “Of course, and then there was a man who took my job, it’s not Louis Theroux who is a really nice man.
“And whoever I will not mention names said, ‘We want you to do a game show’, but I said I could be a really good interviewer and they said, ‘Uh uh’, so I left town.”
Wax admitted that she blamed documentarian Louis Theroux for losing her show but later learned she was in fact axed by a television executive, not the journalist.
Losing her show prompted the comic to change the direction of her career and earn a master’s degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Oxford University.
The fresh start also allowed her time to focus on raising awareness around mental health following her own experiences of depression.
The Standard has contacted a BBC representative for comment.
The comedian began working with the BBC in 1991 with her show The Full Wax. Following the success of the series, she filmed a one-off, Ruby Wax Meets Madonna, for the broadcaster in 1994.
Off the back of that special, the BBC commissioned her series Ruby Wax Meets..., which aired between 1996 and 1998. The show saw her interview the likes of Donand Trump, OJ. Simpson, and Pamela Anderson.
The series was both a hit with viewers and critics, earning her a BAFTA Award for an interview with Sarah, Duchess of York, which attracted over 14 million viewers, in 1997.
Wax also presented quiz show, The Waiting Game, on BBC one from November 2001 to June 2002. The new incarnation of her 90s series launched in 2003 and was titled Ruby Wax With…
Elsewhere in the interview, the American star opens up about her uncompromising upbringing, how she escaped her strict parents in America, as well as recalling the physical abuse she faced at the hands of her father Edward Wachs.
