Do even go there!
A group of neurodivergent youngsters ask celebrities questions that journalists wouldn’t dare – but did they answer?
Rockerdale Studios for ITV1 and ITVX
- Michael Hodges
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It sounds like a television disaster just waiting to happen. Put well-known celebrities in front of an audience of autistic, neurodivergent or learning-disabled young people with free rein to ask them any question they like – the celebrities will surely clam up, or spout meaningless, possibly condescending, platitudes? But if you saw last year’s BBC pilot, aired during Autism Acceptance Week, with actor Michael Sheen as the guest, you’ll know that, actually, The Assembly – the British version of original French show Les rencontres du Papotin – makes for genuinely moving television that offers often surprising insights into the personalities of the star guests.
The new series on ITV1 has Danny Dyer, Gary Lineker, David Tennant and former Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall putting themselves on the line. But the real stars, once again, are the young people asking questions that many professional interviewers – fearful for their continuing access to top talent – could well avoid. The kids also, as in the original French show, occasionally break off Fame-style to perform songs.
Danny Dyer on The Assembly. ITV
Jacob, 20, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when he was three, is a particularly adept interrogator, addressing the visiting stars with unnerving directness. “Do you ever tell your children you love them?” is one of his zingers. “I thought I should ask them questions they don’t usually get asked,” he tells me. “That makes the show more exciting.”
The BBC simply couldn’t afford to commission it
Julice is a 19-year-old with high-functioning ASD, ADHD and anxiety. She reveals she was sick before some of the recordings, yet on camera she transforms into a singer of grace and emotional force. Her performance of the Proclaimers’ Sunshine on Leith has a visible effect on David Tennant.
“I was terrified because I’d watched him growing up,” Julice says of the Doctor Who star. “Then when we got in the room and talked to him, I turned to someone and said, ‘Oh, he could just be your average guy from the corner shop.’ I immediately felt so comforted, everyone was on his level, he was matching our energy.”
David Tennant in The Assembly. ITV
Tennant is not the only guest to be moved by the show’s unique atmosphere and they all, to some degree, open up to their questioners. “What I took away from the first episode is that it’s a space for neurodivergent people to unmask and be themselves without fear of being judged,” says Julice. “Now, I realise it’s also a place where celebrities can do that as well.”
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What did Jacob think of the guests? “Danny Dyer was good fun, but he also admitted his mistakes,” he says. The actor describes how his wife, Joanne Mas, once booted him out of the marital home because of his drug taking.
This is the kind of show – both a force for social good and delivering a new angle on celebrity – that should be at the centre of BBC schedules. So why, after the pilot aired on the BBC, is it now on ITV? “The BBC were very proud of the show, and it’s been nominated for awards,” says Michelle Singer, joint executive producer alongside Stu Richards. “But they simply weren’t in a position to afford to commission it.”
ITV have changed little from the pilot. “They loved the Sheen episode,” says Singer. “They loved the format, they loved the ethos.” President Macron appeared on the French version, and some British politicians will surely be savvy to the show’s power to change public perceptions.
And what of the kids – are there dangers in finding entertainment in someone’s autism? “The show’s not about neurodivergence or autism, though we sometimes discuss those things,” says Richards. “It’s about honesty and candour and connection.” For Jacob, The Assembly offers a chance to speak and be seen. “No matter your disability or anything else, you should not be excluded [from television],” he says. “So, this has been a very good opportunity.”
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Julice has no doubts about that: “I’ve grown more confident in front of the camera and as a person. Every single aspect of the programme has given me something I could learn from and take into my own life.”
Authors
Michael Hodges
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