Now that the novelty factor around 'The Assembly UK' has gone, does ITV's probing interview show still impress?
For the uninitiated, 'The Assembly' sees celebrities facing a grilling from people with autism, other neurodivergent conditions and learning disabilities.
After a BBC pilot with Michael Sheen, Series One saw actors Danny Dyer and David Tennant, singer Jade Thirwall and footballer turned broadcaster Gary Lineker take part in a show where no questions are too hard or out of bounds.
It made for gripping viewing as some of the celebrities shifted uncomfortably in their seats and occasionally teared up.
The show was critically acclaimed, winning a Royal Television Society award for Formatted Popular Factual Programme and earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Factual Entertainment Programme.
However it was not without its critics, with some in the autistic community accusing it of being patronising and treating its interviewers like "zoo animals".
I'm not sure I'd agree, as it's a show that genuinely tries to understand how the world is seen from an autistic, other neurodivergent and learning disabled perspective.
What cannot be denied is the UK version is a compelling watch.
This year's crop of celebrities are comedians and actors Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, actor Anna Maxwell Martin, the rapper Aitch and TV and radio presenter Rylan.
And with most of the famous faces this time going into their interviews alive to the fact there will be unexpected questions, it still fun to see them caught off their guard.
Stephen Fry is immediately hit with having to explain why he took drugs in Buckingham Palace.
Nicola Sturgeon is grilled about her arrest, the break-up of her marriage and the breakdown of her friendship with her political mentor, Alex Salmond.
Lenny Henry is rattled by a question about why he has not married his partner of 13 years.
Anna Maxwell Martin opens up on the experiencing the loss of her husband Roger Michell and about finding love again.
Aitch is asked if he regrets some of his misogynistic lyrics.
Rylan is asked about cheating on his husband and what it is like to have celebrity friends who are cancelled.
There are laughs. There are tears.
There are also genuinely affecting interactions between the interviewers and interviewees.
That's not to be glib because there's no doubt 'The Assembly' remains one of the best interviewing formats on TV.
Who needs 'The Claudia Winkleman Show'when Jacob, Ali, Essin, Caroline, Marcus, Adam, Luke, Anand and others demonstrate the magic that can happen when you strip away the PR guardrails?
(Series Two of 'The Assembly UK' was broadcast on ITV between April 8- May 24, 2026)
With 21 versions of the show airing across the world from Japan to Canada, Poland to Australia, inevitably an Irish version of 'The Assembly' surfaced this year.
Airing on Virgin Media One, 'The Assembly Ireland' is twice the length of the British version, running for an hour.
The public figures taking part in the first series were current Taoiseach (or Irish Prime Minister, if you prefer) Micheal Martin, comedian Joanne McNally, US comic actor Rosie O'Donnell and former 'Late Late Show' and Times Radio host Ryan Tubridy.
Hosted by Ireland AM presenter Muireann O'Connell, the result is a show which is charming and definitely as probing as the British version.
However it feels slightly more flabby, given it's twice the length.
Martin acquits himself well in the first episode despite being asked to talk about the death of two of his children and also to name his least favourite leader of Fianna Fail.
McNally addresses her experience of having an eating disorder and of being adopted.
O'Donnell inevitably gets asked about her frequent clashes in public with Donald Trump and her decision to uproot and carve out a new life in Ireland.
Tubridy talks about the toll on his mental health of being at the centre of a media storm about his salary at RTE and faces a really interesting question about whether he thinks he's neurodivergent.
There are uplifting moments too like a performance of Aslan's song 'Crazy World' for McNally and a recital of William Percy French's poem 'To The West' for Tubridy.
There's plenty to relish in the Irish version.
But maybe Virgin Media One could do with taking a leaf from their British neighbours' book and reduce the next set of interviews to 30 minutes.
('The Assembly Ireland' was broadcast in Ireland on Virgin Media One between January 24- February 9, 2026, with all episodes available on the Virgin Media player)
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