Michael Sheen interviewed by autistic and neurodivergent cast for The Assembly
Staged and Good Omens star Sheen is set to be interviewed by a group of neurodivergent journalists in a format inspired by French TV.
Michael Sheen will be interviewed by a group of neurodivergent journalists for The Assembly, a half-hour special set to air on BBC and iPlayer during Autism Acceptance Week in April.
The actor will answer questions from around 35 interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent or learning disabled, following a format adapted from 2022 French show Les Rencontres du Papotin (The A Talks), which featured the likes of French president Emmanuel Macron and Call My Agent actor Camille Cottin.
Some of the questions the neurodivergent cohort asked included weighing in on driving bans, the death of a parent and, in Macron's case, if it's really role model behaviour to marry one's teacher.
The BBC has teased Sheen is set to face "the grilling of a lifetime".
"I was thrilled to be asked to be a guest on The Assembly. It’s such a fresh and exciting idea and I can’t wait for what I’m sure is going to be a surprising and challenging experience.
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"I really don’t know what to expect, which is both exhilarating and a little bit terrifying," he said in a statement.
The special comes from Michelle Singer and Stu Richards's Rockerdale Studios, which focuses on creating "mischievous content which seeks to put disabled agency at its heart".
The pair are executive producers on The Assembly, and have worked with the BBC and national and local autistic and neurodivergent organisations to "ensure every element of the series works for and with autistic and neurodivergent voices".
Singer said: "The Assembly has been the most remarkable project that most of us have ever worked on. And sure, it's brilliant representation of a part of society we rarely see given agency on our screens but, far more than that, it's also mischievous, funny, profound, and can turn from one to the other in a heartbeat."
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Richards added: "When we saw the French version of the show it blew my head off, and it's quite a large, cumbersome head, so it really takes something impressive."
Kalpna Patel-Knight, BBC’s head of entertainment commissioning, said: "The BBC is delighted to introduce viewers to The Assembly. It’s a feel-good stand out entertainment show unlike anything viewers have seen before.
"Big thank you to Michael Sheen for being game on to have a no holds barred interview with the superb interviewers who bring the show to life.
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