The 72-year-old star reflects on the evolution of celebrity over the last four decades
Ruby Wax is no stranger to celebrity, having spent almost 40 years in the public eye. Her journey began in the 1970s at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre after moving to the UK, where she honed her craft and worked alongside a young Alan Rickman. By 1978, she had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, marking the first of many career-defining milestones.
Her television breakthrough came in 1985 with the cult sitcom Girls on Top, in which she played Shelley DuPont. The role propelled her into the spotlight and soon led to her own Channel 4 comedy chat show, Don’t Miss Wax, which showcased her distinctive style.
A string of acclaimed BBC programmes followed, from The Full Wax in 1991 to Ruby Wax Meets Madonna in 1994. She cemented her reputation as one of television’s boldest interviewers with Ruby Wax Meets…, a series that placed her face-to-face with some of the world’s most fascinating, and controversial, figures.
Interviewing the likes of Imelda Marcos, O. J. Simpson and Pamela Anderson, the series proved a huge success. It earned a 1997 BAFTA nomination (credited to Clive Tulloh and Don Boyd) for her unforgettable interview with Sarah, Duchess of York.
Most recently, Ruby introduced herself to a new generation of viewers through I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, she reflected on how the idea of “celebrity” has changed over the decades.
“So many young people haven’t seen those shows,” she said. “Back then, you could spend a week with someone, really get to know them, and then condense it into half an hour. You saw a relationship rather than an interview, and that’s rare now.”
She explained that her approach was about digging beneath the surface. “We never talked about their work. We got in and found out who they really were. You saw the person rather than the mask, and that’s what made it interesting.”
Ruby believes modern celebrity is now far more controlled. When asked if these stories Ruby became so well-known for could be shared today, she replied: “You couldn’t do that now. PR would say you only have five minutes with them, if they really liked you. So I would tap dance for them, they go ‘she’s really fun let her move in’.
“But these days, they don’t want to show their insides because they’ve got Instagram where they can create even more of a front. Nobody would let you in for that length of time.”
Reflecting on her time in the ITV jungle, she described how constant filming stripped away pretence. “The cameras were always on, so who are we playing? We became more uninhibited because we were crammed together. Everybody dropped their mask.”
Now, Ruby is preparing to tour the UK with Almost Famous, alongside lifelong friend and A-list producer Clive Tulloh. The show revisits clips from the extraordinary programmes they created together, with Ruby also inviting the audience to share their own stories.
“Everybody wants to be heard,” she said. “When a thousand faces are looking at you and going, ‘me too’, is that the reason to be famous?”
Reflecting on her long-standing friendship with Clive, she shared: “Well, he stole Joanna Lumley from me and made her into even more of a household name. So there were missing years. Listen, if she wasn’t that talented, I’d be furious.
“I used to do documentaries, but she does it for the middle audience, who trust and love her. Mine were too dangerous, I might have worked myself into a corner. So, I don’t blame Clive. I haven’t always been with him, but he gets me completely. He’s funnier than I am, rather than going on your own I’ve got Clive.”
Ruby continued: “The way we talk to each other is so reflective, that we’re speaking in shorthand that the audience will get and say, ‘this is the ideal relationship’.”
During a famous comedy sketch from her 1990s TV show The Full Wax, Ruby “broke into” her Absolutely Fabulous co-star Joanna Lumley’s home, where the actress played a character.
Ruby shared: “I break in to the window, there’s cats all over the place and she’s in total disarray. People thought it was outrageous that I broke into her house. She was a national treasure. Also, how’d I break in if I left a TV studio a minute earlier? So it was outrageous, but it’s set up.
“However, when I interview people it’s exactly how it happened on I’m a Celebrity. So you see intimacy, but it’s condensed.”
She admitted that shows like I’m a Celebrity have changed her approach to this new tour. “People got a certain image that things have changed now, and so you look back at that other stuff and think, ‘that’s a very old fashioned way of doing it’. Not the interview itself, but how I was behaving, it’s not done like that anymore.
“People want to see the real thing, and they want to see what’s so human about you and I think I’ve learned, take off the front. It might not be as zany, or outrageous, but it’s not my job to do that. My job is to just plug in some funny lines, observation and they don’t trust you unless you’re authentic.”
Looking back on her older clips for the tour, Ruby exclaimed: “When I watch them, I’m really surprised. I think the nerve of lifting up Imelda Marcos’ skirt and showing her how to do pelvic floor exercises, or Trump throwing me off his plane, or O.J. trying to stab me with a banana. I am surprised compared to what other talk shows look like!”
“Reality shows came in but people were boring,” she said, “Now you hit a compromise of our show which was edited within its life. So, you’re taking reality but you’re shaping it. We’re not responsible, the editors are. You have really good lines, but you didn’t say them one after the other.”
In terms of her “best tour buddy” from I’m a Celebrity, Ruby said she’d love to see Lisa Riley take on her own show. She said: “She’s hilarious, she’s much quicker than I am. She should be doing a one woman show. We should do a show together, but she’s busy doing Emmerdale. She’s done it for 30 years but she should break out on her own.
“She was really funny in the jungle. I’d love to bring her out to the show and we can have the dialogue.”
Ruby Wax’s Almost Famous tour opens in Henley-on-Thames on March 25, 2026, with the spring leg concluding in Bristol on July 7. She will also appear at The Lowry, Salford Quays, on April 6.