ITV has announced the star-studded line-up for its new entertainment series, The Assembly.
The show will see celebrities being questioned by a remarkable group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled.
The celebrities taking part are:
- Gary Lineker – Sports broadcaster and former professional footballer.
- David Tennant – Actor best known for his role as the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who.
- Jade Thirwall – BRIT-nominated pop star who recently embarked on a solo career after 11 chart-topping years as a member of girl group Little Mix.
- Danny Dyer – Actor whose recent work includes Rivals and EastEnders.
The Assembly first aired in the UK to critical acclaim in 2024 as a BBC pilot featuring actor and director, Michael Sheen, who later remarked in an interview with The Guardian that it had garnered more response than anything else he had ever done.
The show’s format is an adaptation of French series Les Rencontres du Papotin, which launched in 2022 on France 2. The UK programme 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.
Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime ITV said:
“We’re delighted that such an esteemed group of famous faces have agreed to be part of this fresh and distinct format coming to ITV1 and ITVX soon. Gary, David, Jade and Danny’s interviews with The Assembly all promise to be captivating, unmissable television with real warmth and we cannot wait to share it with our viewers.”
The four-part series is produced by Rockerdale Studios for ITV and will air later this year.
