Worst holiday you’ve ever been on?
Because of Covid, when I came back from South Africa I had to stay at a hotel at Heathrow. I lived there for 12 days. It was the worst holiday ever. I was let out for fifteen minutes a day, with a guard outside my door called Spartacus, which is a whole other story. He would sing to me with the door open and his mask down, popping his cheeks. He would sing in my face once a day, that was the only thing that would keep me going.
Worst thing about studying neuroscience?
I can’t remember the words. If I sat down, in five minutes I’d know, but in ten minutes I’d forget.
Worst encounter with a celebrity?
I once interviewed Donald Trump. It’s awful to be in his eyeline, and for him to be sending hatred towards you is not pleasant. His eyes said, “I’m going to rip your throat out,” and it was very hard to ask questions in that kind of climate. It was awful. It backfired. Who knew he would become president?
I laughed at him, which is why he threw me out of his airplane. We were in his private jet, and he said he wanted to be president, and I started laughing, and it turned into a hate match from there on. I thought he was kidding, but he made his pilot land, and he threw me off. It was an interesting situation – not one to repeat.
Worst meal you’ve ever eaten?
When I had to quarantine at the hotel in Heathrow, they gave me posset, with a cherry, on a crust, in a paper bag.
Worst thing about modern life?
The loneliness, it’s never enough. You’re always in the wrong place, you’re never good-looking enough. You’re never doing enough. You’re judged all the time. You can’t read enough, you don’t know enough about what’s going on. You can’t keep up, and so life can be quite isolating.
As told to Lucy Pearson
The I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was live tour by Ruby Wax and Impatient Productions starts on 1 May 2024
