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Louis Theroux wants to make a documentary about Melania Trump: ‘She’s a prisoner’

‘Did she just think she was marrying a billionaire, who she thought was perhaps quite funny, and interesting?’

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 06 May 2019 10:18 BST
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Louis Theroux has revealed he’d love to make a documentary about Melania Trump.

He said the First Lady of the United States would make an ideal subject, telling the Press Association: “You would sort of film with her in this kind of gilded cage that she inhabits.”

“There’s something of ‘could she have known what she was signing on for?” he continued. “Did she just think she was marrying a billionaire, who she thought was perhaps quite funny, and interesting?”

“Maybe not physically attractive, but that he could provide her with certain lifestyle, introduce her to a world that was interesting?

“And then now, she’s a prisoner of – I mean, I’m speaking hypothetically because we don’t really know, do we – but she’s a metaphorical prisoner of that lifestyle.”

The documentarian’s latest project is Mothers on the Edge, which sees him spend time in two specialist psychiatric units, which treat mothers experiencing serious mental illness – often triggered by birth or the stress of motherhood – while allowing them to live alongside their babies.

Theroux added that he’d love to profile WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, adding: “He’s not a big personality, from little bits I’ve seen. He’s very deliberative in the way he speaks, and thoughtful.”

He also praised Good Morning Britain‘s Piers Morgan, who has also hosted several documentaries.

“I’ve always thought he was pretty good, actually,” he said. “What he’s got, that I like, is he’s not afraid to bring the fight, you know? I mean, I think in other words, he’ll call bulls***. So, I enjoy that.”

“Piers works with someone I used to work with, and he’s done some crime stories and prison stories in America, serial killers, and I always quite enjoy them.”

Mothers On The Edge airs on BBC Two on 12 May.

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