Louis and the Nazis aired in 2003 (Picture: PA, BBC)

Louis Theroux has admitted that he would struggle to make his 2003 documentary Louis and the Nazis in 2019 due to the fascist ideologys movement from the fringes to mainstream politics.

The British documentary maker has never shied away from covering controversial topics in his TV series, famously documenting the lives of Scientologists, homophobic preachers and, of course, Jimmy Savile.

But with the rise of the alt-right in the US and Europe, Louis told a crowd at Cheltenham Literature Festival that his 2003 documentary following American neo-Nazis would carry different weight if it was released today.

Im on board with the whole idea that platforming is something that should be thought through carefully, he said, admitting that the world has changed a lot in the last 16 years.

Speaking about his experience working on the 2003 documentary, the 49-year-old continued: Back in the days of when I made Louis and the Nazis [], I spent days, if not a couple of weeks, with basically card-carrying national socialists people who had the most extreme version of Nazism as you can imagine.

I think the reason I felt it was OK was that it was so far outside the window of acceptable discourse that it was verging on pathology. If they had been closer to the mainstream you might have imagined we are giving them some sort of currency.

However, 2019s political landscape is vastly different, with Louis admitting: In this day and age, when you have members of the alt right who, in some cases, have crypto-fascist views or coded racist views and some not-so-coded racist views, and there is a trickle up or trickle down to the White House, suddenly you are in a different space.

You are in danger of lending credence to or popularising hate and, as a result, I have been very wary of doing that.

The journalist, whose new book Gotta Get Theroux This was released in September, has recently opened up about his infamous 2001 Savile documentary, calling the filming process: as the strangest and most upsetting thing Ive ever been involved in.

The experience rocked Louis, who was shocked by Saviles tactics to avoid being labelled a paedophile.

The hallmark of his offending was he was weirdly brazen in his ability to address it and take the position that is completely bizarre, he said.

He had an ability not to be nobbled by it. When he was confronted about his offending, people did come to confront him and he had the ability to brazen it out.

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Louis Theroux 'very wary' of platforming hate after neo-Nazi documentary - Metro.co.uk