Championing accessibility: The Assembly

Putting people with disabilities at its heart, and promoting equilibrium across all levels and stages of production, has seen the ITV show The Assembly gain audience praise and industry attention. Featuring a group of autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled interviewers grilling celebrities in a ‘no questions off limits’ scenario, it has quickly captured public interest and attracted big name celebrities like Danny Dyer, David Tennant, Gary Lineker, Jade Thirlwall and Michael Sheen to take part.

After the first series, audience research found the word most commonly associated with the show is “honesty”. And one reviewer said: “it’s not hard to imagine future historians dividing celebrity interviews into two eras: before and after The Assembly”.

So what makes the show special, and how have production company Rockerdale Studios ensured that all involved have been listened to and empowered throughout?

Here, executive producer Michelle Singer opens up about the process behind creating the show, explaining it is “not solely about disability, it’s about representation, and the authenticity of that representation matters.”

A core part of The Assembly has been to ensure authenticity by giving the cast of autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled interviewers the freedom to ask the questions they want. Because, as Singer explains: “Our show is not about disability, it is absolutely within it, but it is not about disability. It’s about communication, it’s about cheekiness and mischief, it’s about the freedom to speak freely on both sides of the conversation.”

Show producers don’t prescribe questions and they don’t restrict what the interviewers want to ask. And Singer reflects that had they gone down the route of feeding in questions, as some interview shows do, then it wouldn’t be the honest, authentic show people have warmed to. She says: “Certainly with our cast what you would end up with is people floundering because it wouldn’t feel like it’s them asking those things. And the whole point of a lot of these people’s experiences, as they’ve told me at least, is that they are used to a neurotypical world trying to mould them and force them into something that is neurotypical and they start to shut down a bit…

“If you prescribe a bunch of questions to people they’ll read them out but they’ll feel discomforted. They don’t have agency and you don’t get the secret spice that makes our show as special as it is – that authenticity of what they’re asking and of their experience of their enquiry.”

This sense of freedom has been incredibly important to the success of the show and something audiences have picked up on with ‘honesty’ becoming one of the main words they associate with it. Singer explains: “I genuinely think in a world of everybody being very concerned about how AI will be used in the future, and manipulation, and all of these things…I think humans can spot truthfulness, authenticity and honesty because we’re built to. So, for humans to clock in other humans, in a show that is about communication and humans talking to other humans, honesty and authenticity in those interactions to the extent it becomes the key words then that makes enormous sense and is incredibly heartening.”

One of the ways The Assembly has aimed to support everyone involved in the production of the show has been by having a highly stripped back set where the cast and crew are encouraged to move around as they need. The cameras and the sound operators are in full view of everybody, there is a dedicated sensory quiet room, and the goal has been to create “an environment which enables people to feel as safely themselves as possible”.

Singer says: “If it’s all getting a bit too much you can just remove yourself and go down into the sensory room. You can sit on beanbags, you can do some colouring in, you can touch some fibre optic things, you can squeeze some stress balls, put on noise- cancelling headphones etc. What you are doing is removing yourself from some version of sensory overload and regrouping… then when you’re ready you can go and put yourself back.”

“Nobody is asking for permission to do these things, nobody is having to put their hand up and say ‘oh I need to …’, they can just freely move. ” If you create that sort of environment… I think you probably improve things for the entire production staff and crew full stop.”

Creating an inclusive workplace on The Assembly has meant fostering an environment in which “people know that their access requirements are met and that they feel they can also make any additional requests, so they can advocate for themselves.” Something, Singer notes, in turn creates “an environment in which people will listen and respond maturely and respectfully to requests”.

The producer shares an example of how this plays out on set where catering to different autistic cast members’ dietary needs is important, as not doing it “really destroys how they will feel from the moment they walk in the building”. Taking the example further she explains one member of the cast will only eat cheese sandwiches and so in order to help them be able to feel their most confident a member of production staff will make them one. She says: “You get production saying ‘I understand we’re talking equilibrium here and I can do a thing that’s pretty straight forward and they’ll be delighted, and them being delighted means they feel free and feel like they are themselves’.”

Similarly, a senior member of production, who has a lifelong chronic pain condition, and recently learnt that certain chairs – specifically ones with arms – make him feel most comfortable when sat for any length of time, as does being able to raise his feet. Knowing what he needs has enabled The Assembly team to facilitate this and ensure they always bring an office chair with arms into the studio for him and find a crate or box for his feet to go on. Singer says it shows that: “it’s possible even if it’s makeshift. It needn’t cost much. It is always a little bit ‘let’s try this and if this doesn’t work we’ll adapt next time’ and there’s a lovely environment of that amongst the team – crew cast and production team.”

Singer reflects that: “You’ll never make things change unless you accept that it’s going to be hard to make a start. But you have to make a start”. Here are some of her suggestions for how to begin…

• every broadcaster has a person responsible for disability representation within their DEI crew – seek that person out, they will be a phenomenal resource
• speak to some access co-ordinators or the agencies that represent access co-ordinators – get advice on perils, pitfalls, things to anticipate, things that you absolutely need the specialism of an access co-ordinator for and build their time into your budget. They can help with budget lines too!
• if you can, have the provision of a sensory room or similar – it brings benefits for all; crew, production team and any on- camera talent
• where printed materials are unavoidable, print on yellow paper – anybody that has anything in the world of dyslexia can read far better on yellow paper than on white or anything else
• make sure people meaningfully have a seat at the table – in the decision making process, in the editorial process, in the production process, in the production management process, in the logistics, in the creative choices and casting, in everything.