Rockerdale Studios has launched a ten-part YouTube spin-off featuring previously unseen material from ITV interview format The Assembly.
The Assembly: B-Sides brings together exchanges that were filmed for the television series but did not appear in the final half-hour episodes. New instalments will be released fortnightly, with Rockerdale independently distributing the digital series.
The first episode is available now and features David Tennant discussing his on-screen kiss with Michael Sheen, Gary Lineker being asked about married life, Jade Thirlwall recalling her two initial rejections from The X Factor and Danny Dyer considering how he would respond to an alien invasion.
Other contributors appearing across the series include Sir Stephen Fry, Nicola Sturgeon, Sir Lenny Henry, Anna Maxwell Martin, Aitch and Rylan, alongside Sheen, who was the subject of the original BBC pilot.
The Assembly places prominent figures in front of a group of interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled. The format is produced by Rockerdale, the disabled-led production company that forms part of STV Studios’ family of labels.
Rockerdale Studios co-founder Stu Richards said: “Trust me, if you’d have seen that cutting room floor, you’d have commissioned a YouTube spin-off series too. Our interviewees generously give up hours of their time to be grilled by our brilliant panel, so it’s inevitable that some moments of pure gold don’t make it into the half-hour TV show. But the digital gods have saved us by providing a home for every shocking, emotional and hilarious revelation made by all those famous types during filming.
Richards added: “The Assembly has done really well on ITVX, STV Player and ITV’s YouTube channel, and this digital-native spin-off series is an exciting next step in the brand’s multi-platform evolution.”
The launch follows ITV’s recent commission of a third series of The Assembly. The programme was named Best Popular Factual Series at the Edinburgh TV Awards and included in The Guardian’s selection of the best television shows of 2026.
Distributed internationally by CAN’T STOP media, the format is adapted from French series Les Rencontres du Papotin. Versions now air in 20 territories, including Canada, Australia and Brazil, and have collectively featured more than 250 public figures. International participants have included Erling Haaland, Gal Gadot, Antonio Banderas and Catherine Deneuve.
Rockerdale is backed by the Channel 4 Creative Investment Fund and operates as an STV Studios label.
