The Trustees’ Award recognises an outstanding contribution to the craft of documentary making and has previously been awarded to greats such as Sir David Attenborough and John Battsek.

Theroux, who has been involved in documentary making for more than 20 years, has participated in some of America’s strangest pursuits and explored some of the most important subjects of the modern day, including transgender children and alcoholism.

Announcing the award, Chairman of the Grierson Trust, Lorraine Heggessey says: "Louis is a filmmaker who has effectively created his own genre."

"His curiosity and willingness to immerse himself in all kinds of communities, allied with his idiosyncratic interviewing technique enables him to really get under the skin of his subjects."

A multi award-winning filmmaker, Louis started as a correspondent on Michael Moore’s TV Nation before starting his famous Weird Weekends series for the BBC, where he got stuck into bizarre American subcultures.

Over the course of the series he attended a swingers’ party, stalked game with trophy hunters and raps on a live radio broadcast.

The Grierson Awards are organised by the Grierson Trust, a registered charity that promotes documentary filmmaking, inspired by the ‘father of documentary’ John Grierson.

This year’s nominations include programmes such as The Age of Loneliness, My Son the Jihadi and The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds.

In addition to the Trustee Award, Louis has been nominated in the Best Documentary Presenter Category for A Different Brain and Drinking to Oblivion, both broadcast by the BBC this year.

The awards ceremony, regarded as the Oscars of the documentary world, will be hosted by Jon Culshaw at the Mermaid Theatre on Monday 7 November.

A new film by Theroux will be broadcast on BBC Two this weekend. Louis Theroux: Savile is a rumination on Louis Theroux’s 1999 documentary about the entertainer, where Louis questioned Savile on accusations of paedophilia, but failed to expose his crimes.

Louis built up a friendship with Savile following the 1999 documentary, and addresses the guilt he now has about this in the new film, where he also meets victims of Savile’s abuse.

Louis Theroux: Savile will air at 9pm on Sunday.