The BAFTA TV Awards Are on This Sunday

Worth

Hello,

Welcome to Worth Watching.

Hope you’re having a good Friday.

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NEXT WEEK

• Channel 4 debuts a show called Virgin Island, where they put virgins on an island and try to get them to lose their virginity. No, really.

• Eurovision Song Contest comes from Basel in Switzerland. The semi-finals are on BBC One next Tuesday and Thursday, with the Grand Final on Saturday.

• As a result of Eurovision, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr is moving to Wednesday next week at 8pm, airing directly before Race Across The World. In my view, these shows should have been back-to-back to begin with.

• BAFTA TV Awards are on this Sunday. The ceremony is once again on tape delay on BBC One, with Alan Cumming hosting the event. I’ll be providing analysis on the nominations live from the red carpet on BBC News on Sunday afternoon.

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SHOW OF THE WEEK

The Assembly (ITVX, all episodes) – Last year the BBC aired a pilot of a talk show where learning disabled, neurodivergent, and autistic individuals interviewed a celebrity. In the pilot they interviewed Michael Sheen. The questions were fantastic, Sheen’s answers were illuminating, and with impressive viewing figures and social media traction, it seemed inevitable that the BBC would pick it up for a full series.

Yet, as the broadcaster’s entertainment budget was subsequently taken up by shows like The Traitors (revealed by the industry title Broadcast), the show has now been picked up by rival ITV.

And thank goodness ITV did pick it up. With the premise that no topic is off-limits (and the guest is not briefed on the questions being asked beforehand), there are some conversations and exchanges you just don’t see on other talk shows. This includes David Tennant talking about disagreeing with J.K. Rowling on trans rights and the loss of his parents, whilst Danny Dyer talks about the benefits he found from therapy and why he has put his kid in private school despite his working-class background.

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