When Louis Theroux met... fans at Shropshire book event

The documentary filmmaker has been appearing on TV screens for more than 20 years and his latest book reflects on the weird and wonderful moments of his career.

A bespoke event, organised by Booka bookshop in Oswestry, saw the 49-year-old discuss his strange encounters and entertain an audience of about 200 fans at Lion Quays Hotel & Spa, near Gobowen, on Tuesday evening.

They were each given a signed copy of his book, Gotta Get Theroux This: My life and strange times in television, and had the chance to take selfies with Louis in a 'meet and greet' afterwards.

Speaking to author and screenwriter Adam Hamdy about his decision to write the new book, he said: "What happened was, aged 48, as I then was, I said maybe I'm old enough now to take a look back at my life.

"I was conscious of the ageing process.

"I thought maybe now I've spent long enough doing this, 25 years on TV, that I could afford to take a look back at what I've learnt."

He made the audience laugh as he spoke about starting out on Michael Moore's TV Nation in 1994 and aspiring to be a sitcom writer, before taking on his own TV series.

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, which originally aired between 1998 and 2000, saw him meet UFO believers, swingers, military enthusiasts and right-wing patriots.

The self-confessed worrier admitted he was put outside his comfort zone in many scenarios, telling the audience: "I would have got scared going to a cocktail party, let alone to interview a religious cult."

Despite some of his documentaries dealing with difficult subjects and extremist views, he said he always assumed people were coming from a 'place of good faith' and he 'did not rush to judge'.

He also admitted seeing why viewers found the shows entertaining.

"You deal with stress by laughing sometimes," he said.

"Sometimes you deal with it by seeing a geeky British guy in an awkward situation.

"I think there's something funny about me in a world where I'm becoming unstuck."

He told fans that being in countries where there were riots and unrest had made him nervous, but so had auditioning for a job as a singer-dancer on a Norwegian cruise ship – in front of Craig Revel Horwood before he became a Strictly Come Dancing judge.

"I had a nightmare audition where my voice completely dried up," he said.

In the series When Louis Met..., he accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme in their daily lives, interviewing them as they go.

In When Louis Met the Hamiltons, the former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested during the course of filming, due to false allegations of indecent assault.

Speaking about being caught up in the 'media storm', he said: "It did well on the ratings and got a lot of people talking about it.

"I was confused and it was very strange and discomforting. I didn't relish it.

"The programme was really good but part of what makes the programme good is how uncomfortable I appeared to be in it. Really that seems to be quite funny."

The series also saw him meet magician Paul Daniels, ex-boxer Chris Eubank and TV and radio personality Jimmy Savile, prior to him being labelled a prolific sex offender.

Louis, who has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award for his work, is also known for his BBC Two specials.

In these programmes, beginning in 2003, Louis returned to American themes, working at feature-length and in a more natural way.

In March 2006, he signed a new deal with the BBC to make 10 films over the course of three years.

Subjects for the specials include criminal gangs in Lagos, Neo-Nazis in America and ultra-Zionists in Israel.

His latest book will be released on Thursday.