The Assembly is a British television interview programme series first broadcast on 5 April 2024. Based on the French show Les Rencontres du Papotin, British celebrities are interviewed by people with autism and other learning disabilities. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics.
Contents
Format
People with autism, other forms of neurodivergence, and learning disabilities, interview well-known British personalities, with a musical or dance performance at the end of most episodes. Interviewers typically ask unconventional questions; for example, Stephen Fry's interview began with "You tried to kill yourself a couple of times, are you happy to be alive now?" and continued with "Are you a top or a bottom?" and "You've done adverts for Heineken, Alliance & Leicester, Twinings Tea, Pioneer Hi-Fi, Walkers Crisps, Marks & Spencer, Honda, Virgin Media, Extra Strong Mints, After Eight Mints, Sainsbury’s, Heathrow Airport, Direct Line, EE, and finally Whitbread, is there anything you wouldn’t do for money?". Politician Nicola Sturgeon described her appearance on The Assembly as "one of the most special experiences of [her] life".
The series' format is based on the French series Les Rencontres du Papotin (The Chatterbox Encounters),
a format that had been adapted in 21 countries as of January 2026.
Production
The series is produced by STV Studios label Rockerdale Studios, a "disability-led" production company.
A pilot episode featuring Michael Sheen aired on BBC One during Autism Acceptance Week, on 5 April 2024. The programme was later taken up by ITV after the BBC "could not afford to commission a full season". The first full series began on 26 April 2025, and the second on 8 April 2026. Each series concludes with one or two episodes of outtakes and unseen footage, titled The Assembly: Unseen.
Episodes
Reception
The Assembly has received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing in The Guardian, Chitra Ramaswamy awarded the pilot four stars, and dubbed it "lovely, novel and effective". Anita Singh of The Telegraph praised the first series as "a gem of a show". Jack Seale from The Guardian rated the second series five out of five stars. Emily Baker of The i Paper praised the show as "rare, powerful television".
However, the series has faced some criticism from the autistic community, with the series accused of being patronising.