Published: December 12, 2024 — ITV has commissioned Rockerdale Studios to produce a major new entertainment series, The Assembly for ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player. The 4 x 30’ series will see celebrities being questioned by a remarkable group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled.
Each episode of The Assembly sees a different celebrity forced to cast aside everything they were ever taught by their media trainers as they face their most honest, funny, chaotic – and heartwarming – interview yet.
The celebrities on the line-up – to be announced in due course – come from various corners of the showbiz world, and with each of them enjoying illustrious careers in their respective fields, the list of subject matters for our unique collective to explore is endless. No area is out of bounds and no question is off the table. Carefully considered PR fluff won’t cut it on this show!
The Assembly first aired in the UK to critical acclaim earlier this year as a 30-minute BBC pilot featuring actor and director Michael Sheen who later said, “The Assembly’s had more response than anything I’ve ever done” (The Guardian, August 2024).
Together with ITV, Rockerdale has worked with national and local, autistic and neurodivergent organisations to ensure every element of The Assembly works for and with autistic and neurodivergent voices.
The show’s format is an adaptation of French series Les Rencontres du Papotin, created by Kiosco TV and Quad Ten and distributed by Can’t Stop Media, which launched in 2022 on France 2. The show featured appearances from notable French figures including Killing Eve star Camille Cottin and even President Emmanuel Macron, who was memorably asked by the panel if it’s really role model behaviour to marry one’s teacher. As well as the UK, the format has already been adapted with success in Australia, Denmark, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and is currently in production in eight other territories.
Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime ITV said: “The Assembly is such a distinct, clever and authentic format, and one that we’re absolutely thrilled to commission for a full first series for ITV1 and ITVX. I can’t wait for The Assembly interviewers to ask our brilliant cast of celebrities a plethora of burning questions, which will no doubt make for must watch TV.”
Michelle Singer and Stu Richards, Executive Producers for Rockerdale Studios said: “We’re absolutely buzzing to be bringing The Assembly to ITV and delighted that, just like us, the team there want to see more of telly’s most mischievous cast putting proper famous types under the microscope. This show will be funny and naughty and warm and smart and, bloody hell, we’ve got ourselves all worked up now… we just cannot wait to make it.”
The Assembly is a 4 x 30’ Rockerdale Studios production for ITV. It was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime Commissioning ITV and David Smyth, ITV Entertainment Commissioner. The Executive Producers are Michelle Singer and Stu Richards for Rockerdale Studios. It will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player in 2025.
The Assembly has been commissioned as part of ITV’s Diversity Commissioning Fund. Launched in 2022, the fund reserved £80m of the content commissioning budget over the next three years to help drive change towards racial equity and disability equity, in whose stories get told and who gets opportunities in TV production. The fund is crucial to ensure that ITV commissions content about and by People of Colour and Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent people.
The show comes from Michelle Singer and Stu Richards’ Rockerdale Studios, creators of mischievous content which seeks to put disabled agency at its heart, such as Channel 4’s Rosie Jones-fronted series, Mission: Accessible. Stu is also known for co-creating and writing BBC Three black comedy series Jerk, starring Tim Renkow. Rockerdale is part of the STV Studios family of labels.
Source
ITV Press Centre
