New Twitter feed imagines some of Louis Theroux's weirder documentary subjects

Louis Theroux is back on our screens... but a Twitter bot has imagined his work getting a bit weirder - Murder in Milwaukee
Louis Theroux is back on our screens... but a Twitter bot has imagined his work getting a bit weirder - Murder in Milwaukee

Louis Theroux has spawned all sorts of cult memorabilia in recent years, from pillow cases to tote bags to ironic Christmas jumpers, but few come as frighteningly appropriate as Louis Theroux Bot, a new Twitter feed that uncannily mimics the documentarian's unique delivery.

The feed, which began earlier this week, replicates the awkwardly humorous introductory statements Theroux so often made while speaking to people for his earlier, less serious documentaries – think his Nineties adventures in pornography, swinging and hypnosis, to name but a few.

The bot has already tweeted such perceptive comedy as: "I'm in Austria to meet Connor, a former competitive eater turned anti-vac extremist who believes Elton John is a hologram," and "I'm in West Virginia to meet Sadie, a former magician turned right-wing survivalist who believes New Zealand doesn't exist."

The bot is the brainchild of writer Andy Kelly, a journalist for PC Gamer and Vice, who birthed the idea on his own Twitter several days ago.

"I'd love Louis Theroux to take a wee break from the heavy stuff and do a new Weird Weekends," Kelly tweeted. "Interview some real oddballs." Ten minutes later, a bot was born.

Theroux has recently returned to BBC screens with a series of documentaries of a far more serious nature, from investigating America's opioids epidemic to a forthcoming documentary about anorexia in the UK.