For the first time in Ireland, The Assembly, the daring TV format born in France, ushers neuro-divergent adults into the interviewer’s seat.
On Virgin Media this month, the spotlight falls on Ryan Tubridy, long a household name and lately one of Ireland’s most scrutinised broadcasters.
Hosted by Muireann O’Connell and produced by Mairead Whelan, The Assembly brings together 34 neuro-divergent adults- spanning creatives, athletes, musicians, poets, students, and activists- who ask the questions they genuinely want answered. No scripts. No PR gloss. Just curiosity expressed raw and real.
As Muireann puts it, her role is ‘100% a facilitator’, ensuring the space is safe and comfortable for participants, not steering the conversation. Decades of rehearsed TV interviews meet their match in this format, where a celebrity steps into an environment that demands vulnerability and authenticity.
That is exactly the space Ryan stepped into. Until recently, he dominated RTÉ’s airwaves, but his appearance here comes against the backdrop of one of public broadcasting’s most seismic controversies.
In June 2023, it emerged that Ryan had been paid some €345,000 beyond his publicly declared salary between 2017 and 2022, via barter accounts and under-reported deals- sparking outrage and plunging RTÉ into crisis. Ryan insisted he was paid according to contract and said he did not know the under-reporting, calling the suggestion of secret deals ‘beggars' belief’.
The revelations shredded trust between the broadcaster and the public. Ryan was grilled in Oireachtas hearings, his future with RTÉ evaporated, and the fallout forced sweeping changes inside the national broadcaster.
In August 2025, nearly two years after the scandal broke, Ryan repaid €150,000 linked to a Renault appearance deal that never took place, returning the money ‘through his solicitor, without condition’ in an effort to draw a line under the controversy.
Though RTÉ has no plans to bring him back, the repayment has fuelled speculation about his next chapter. In that sense, Ryan’s appearance on The Assembly is symbolic. Here is a figure who for years controlled the narrative, now stepping into a room where 34 strangers hold the questions and nothing is off-limits.
Celebrities who take part in the series do so without payment, simply because they believe in the idea. They could be asked anything, and that is precisely the point. The questions are not about generating headlines but about satisfying genuine curiosity, and that makes them far more powerful.
For Ryan, it is a chance to be seen outside of the structures of RTÉ, away from scripted radio cues and studio gloss. For the participants, it is a chance to interview one of the most recognisable faces in Ireland on their own terms. And for viewers, it is a chance to watch layers of performance and defence peel away in favour of something more human.
‘The people involved in this are phenomenal,’ Muireann said of the group. ‘I’ve learned so much from them. They’ve asked questions I’d never have thought of. They’ve made me up my game. And more than anything, it’s just fascinating television- raw, human, and full of heart.’
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