Are they your real teeth?' How TV's best and most gloriously blunt chatshow ripped up the rulebook

A celebrity guest arrives for an interview where a neurodivergent panel immediately asks direct, personal questions. The conversation covers topics such as appearance, relationships, infidelity, divorce, and family issues, including questions about an absent father and coming out as gay. The panel also asks how the guest copes when a famous friend is cancelled. The guest responds with emotion and frustration, including tears. Alongside serious probing, the interview includes lighter interactions such as recognizing a panelist from a local gay club, playful matchmaking attempts, and receiving a wedding invitation. The episode ends with group singing and a positive wrap-up, portraying the format as warm, frank, and entertaining.

"The opening questions fired at him by these unique interviewers are Are they your real teeth? and Did you ever consider having a real suntan? So much for small talk. The ensuing half-hour takes in probing inquiries about his infidelity, divorce and resulting breakdown. The 28-strong neurodivergent panel ask Rylan whether he loved his absent father, when he came out as gay and how he copes when one of his famous friends gets cancelled (his tearful reply appears to allude to Radio 2 colleague Scott Mills)."

"You bastards, Rylan sniffs. You made me cry. Yet this gamechanging show isn't all soul-searching and sob stories. There are plenty of lighter moments, too. Rylan is delighted to recognise one of his inquisitors from a Chelmsford gay club. Another tries to matchmake him with their mum's gardener. He receives a wedding invitation from a third. By the time they're all singing along to Pure Shores by All Saints, it's joyous TV."

"Each episode kicks off with a panellist setting the scene: Welcome to The Assembly, our collective of autistic, neurodivergent and learning-disabled interviewers. Our rules are that no subject is out of bounds, no question is off the table and all might happen. The VIP in the hot seat is duly subjected to a grilling like no other."

"Over the past two years, the ITV series has breathed new life into the tired televised interview format. That was the best thing I've ever done, says Rylan on his way out. Let's do it again. Warm, frank and funny, it's a typically feelgood episode for what has become the best talkshow."

Read at www.theguardian.com