The Assembly sees a cast of thirty-five interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent or learning disabled, question an A-list celebrity for one extraordinary TV interview.
In this half-hour special, it's multi-award-winning actor and director, Michael Sheen, who is to face the grilling of a lifetime from the unique collective. No subject is out of bounds, no question is off the table.
On subjects as diverse as ex-girlfriends and on-screen kisses, to the OBE he gave back or his favourite motorway, how will the Good Omens star fare as The Assembly bring their unique approach to the celebrity interview?
The Assembly cast is a diverse cast ranging in age from eighteen to seventy-seven, amongst the group are musicians, artists, writers and students. Each will take their own approach in their attempt to get to the truth of Michael Sheen like nobody before has- whether that’s finding out his favourite sandwich filling or how he felt when his daughter was born.
The format is an adaptation of French show Les Rencontres Du Papotin, which saw the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Camille Cotin (Call My Agent) face the neurodivergent journalists of the Papotin. Gone was the flattery of the usual celeb fare – in its place, a mix of mischievous prodding, leftfield quizzing and profound exchanges. The superstars left completely off guard: actors asked about a driving ban or the death of a parent, the President asked if it’s really the behaviour of a role model to marry one’s teacher.
The show comes from Michelle Singer and Stu Richards' Rockerdale Studios, creators of mischievous content which seeks to put disabled agency at its heart. Stu is also known for co-creating and writing the BBC Three comedy, Jerk, and Rockerdale are most known for Channel 4’s Mission: Accessible.
Rockerdale Studios has worked closely with the BBC’s Creative Diversity Team, to ensure every element of the series works for and with autistic and neurodivergent voices.
The Assembly is a half-hour special to celebrate Autism Acceptance Week. Expect profound revelation, glorious chaos, and a lot of laughs.
The Assembly airs Friday 5 April, 10:40pm on BBC One and iPlayer
LW
Interview with Michael Sheen
What made you say yes to being a part of The Assembly?
I said yes to being a part of The Assembly because it was just such an extraordinary and interesting idea. Then reading about the original French series, it just sounded so extraordinary, different and potentially a very revealing way to approach the tried and tested interview process, but obviously it is a lot more than just being an interview. The interview part of it is just one aspect of the project and I think there is still a lot of confusion, ignorance and fear around people with any kind of difference. I think being able to be involved in a project like this could maybe break down some of those barriers.
How is this different from any other TV show you’ve been a part of?
It’s very much unfiltered and that’s really exciting and quite nerve wracking for that reason! So much on TV is sort of smoothed out and filtered and made safe and this, certainly in the making of it, felt very not that! All the better and more refreshing for it too. I know a lot of work is put into the research and preparation for a show like this, but in terms of the actual questions being asked and the experience that you have in all being together when you’re filming, it feels very unpredictable in a really good way and really lead by the people taking part, which is terrific.
How did you feel going into filming?
Well I didn’t really have anything to go on, so I was excited. Sometimes when I’m going to be interviewed, I know what the interview is going to be about, I have a vague idea of the questions that will come up, I know the sort of things that I need to get across about what I’m there to talk about. But with this, I really had no idea what I was going to be asked, so I had to be prepared for everything and anything, there was a kind of freedom in that I suppose. Because of the unfiltered nature of what was going to happen and not being able to anticipate what might be asked, it was a little nerve wracking yes, but I was mainly just very excited!
Did your experience differ from what you were expecting and if so how?
Well I didn’t know what to expect really, so it’s not that it wasn’t what I was expecting because you can’t expect anything! There's no way you can expect anything because you just don’t know what’s going to happen, and because it is so unfiltered and unpredictable in terms of what might happen, where things might go, how people might be feeling on the day. For all the difficult questions that got asked at times, it just felt very loving and joyful and that everyone was very happy and excited to be there even though people were nervous or had anxiety at different times. There was a genuine feeling of community and I felt very welcomed into that community and ready to play so to speak, and you have to be ready to play. I felt very safe and looked after and it was just really, very funny as well – there was lots of laughter and wonderful things that people asked, responded to and performed, I mean I wasn’t expecting all of that, that was just wonderful! So many moments that I’ll never forget.
How does this compare to any other interview you’ve experienced?
It’s so unfiltered! The closest thing I can say is The One Show, where you go on to talk about one thing and then they ask you about everything else that’s going on on the show, so you get a question about your favourite bus route, then they ask you about otters! There’s an extraordinary pinball effect of questions and that’s the closest I could describe, but The Assembly is that x100. It really is extraordinary and that’s very unlike any other interview I’ve done really, usually everything is meant to follow on logically and have a kind of smoothness and polish to it, and this is just really raw and unfiltered and uncensored and I love that, I thought that was wonderful.
What can viewers expect from the show?
I imagine it will be very funny and I think quite moving. I was quite moved at times by seeing how much people had to struggle to overcome certain things they were dealing with in order to ask questions at times. That was uplifting. I think it will be different, it will be thought provoking I hope, and challenging in certain ways; challenging certain kinds of myths and stereotypes I think and ultimately just really entertaining and fun and joyful. I can’t really remember what I said, so I don’t know what people will learn about me... but it’s not about me, it’s about that fantastic group of people, but I certainly got a huge amount out of it too and I hope an audience will as well.
Meet the interviewers
Cameron, 21
“I wanted to be part of the Assembly as I wanted to be able to highlight the neurodiverse community. My experience filming was enjoyable as everyone in the crew was lovely and really supportive of us at all times and the day ran smoothly. Interviewing Michael Sheen was great, he’s an amazing man, very interesting stories to tell and was open to any question we had to ask him.”
Julice, 18
“When I heard about it I wanted to be a part of The Assembly because it’s very rare for people like me to get this kind of opportunity, let alone a whole group of us, and for us to be the focus of it is incredible. Filming was an amazing experience – everyone was really inclusive (and that’s one of my biggest worries when I go anywhere) so it was really, really comforting to see that so many changes were being made to benefit us. Interviewing Michael Sheen was a bit intimidating at first because social settings aren’t my strong suit but he was really comforting, very down-to-earth, and very understanding of everyone, very patient so it was amazing.”
Ali, 29
“To be part of the BBC’s The Assembly and to meet Michael Sheen, the actor and director, and to showcase my talents are all why I wanted to take part. It was an exciting and new experience and it was the very first time I’ve been in front of cameras in my life AND to meet Michael Sheen! Even though I was very excited to meet him, I was very nervous at first but, when it came to talking to him, my confidence started to build up.”
Charlotte, 27
“I definitely enjoyed it. My highlight was sitting next to Michael Sheen and getting answers to my questions I wanted to hear. He said a lot of stuff and it was just incredible!”
Marcus, 21
“It was fabulous! Amazing! I asked Michael Sheen a cheeky question and he definitely answered it. My favourite bit was being on TV – I loved it!”
Executive Producers, Stu Richards and Michelle Singer
Tell us about the filming process and what went into preparing for the show?
Ooh, where to start?! The truth is so very, very much. The cast of our assembly is the most important thing and they’ve been our focus from the start. Booking the right celebrity interviewee was the next piece of the puzzle and Michael Sheen is perfect so we were delighted when he said ‘yes’. Our crew all knew they might be seen on camera as it’s a ‘stripped back’ filming style, which is a bit unusual. It was satisfying to have built such a diverse team, too: many of our off-camera team self-identify as disabled or neurodivergent and it was important to us that the whole team felt a ‘broad church’. The filming process itself is the most straightforward part of the show and the amount of laughter and mischief in the room when Michael was there was exciting.
How did you choose the interviewers for The Assembly?
We spent a long time working with a number of groups around the UK and, most closely, with three superb organisations in the London area. Building trust was essential and it was important to have the time for this to happen. Interviewers needed to know they had the choice whether or not to take part right up until and including on the day of recording. We found such a superb mix of people, all thrilled to be invited to research Michael Sheen and then it was over to them to indulge their curiosities: our cheeky characters asked cheeky questions, deeper thinkers asked about some more profound things, musicians wanted to perform or encourage Michael to do the same…
What makes the show unlike anything we’ve ever seen before on TV?
Michelle: What you see is a group of adults holding all the power. They’re able to ask whatever they want of our celebrity and absolutely nothing is off limits. That freedom is exciting.
Stu: It's more unpredictable than other shows, I suppose. And that's for two reasons: one, it's a cast we've never seen on telly before, a range of perspectives that have never been centre stage; and two, that cast is given a space that is theirs to do as they please, to ask questions that are mischievous, or funny, or profound, or interesting in other ways that I'm not smart enough to articulate.