- 42 minutes ago
The Assembly (2024) Season 2 Episode 3
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00:12Do you want to practice his name?
00:13Whose name?
00:15Who do you think?
00:16Oh, Stephen Henry.
00:17Stephen Henry.
00:19I see him.
00:19I see Lenny Henry.
00:21Oh, who is?
00:23Who are you?
00:24Hi.
00:24All right, nice to see you.
00:25You're all right, sir.
00:26Nice to meet you.
00:26Hey, how are you?
00:27You look like the same, same person.
00:29Do you want?
00:29Oh, I am the same person.
00:31You never get older.
00:33I'll shake your hand.
00:34I love you hanging on me.
00:35I'm Miss Caroline.
00:36Nice to see you, Caroline.
00:38So I heard you divorced.
00:40Pardon?
00:41You got married in 1984, and you got divorced in 2010.
00:46This is great.
00:48I was watching YouTube, and I saw you on there, and you were doing something.
00:52Was I?
00:53Yeah.
00:55How did you get here?
00:56Are you just going to ask me all this?
01:00Lovely to meet you.
01:01Nice to meet you, too.
01:02Hi.
01:02Nice to meet you.
01:03Nice to meet you, too.
01:04How's things?
01:06Great.
01:18Sean, would you like to introduce us?
01:21Welcome to the Assembly.
01:26Our collective of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled.
01:36Interviewers, our walls are no subject is out of bounds.
01:44No question is off the table.
01:48And all might happen.
01:51Please tell us who you are.
01:56My name is Lenny Henry.
01:57I'm an actor and a writer and a comedian.
02:00And I haven't done anything wrong, and can I go soon?
02:04LAUGHTER
02:06And I'm a sir.
02:08I'm a sir.
02:09I'm not sure how popular that is at the moment.
02:11And we're going to start with a question from Thomas Love.
02:18Hello, Sir Lenny Henry, knight of the realm.
02:21Hello.
02:21How are you?
02:22I'm fine, thank you.
02:23My name is Thomas Love.
02:24I'm neurodivergent, autistic, morbidly obese and bipolar.
02:27In December, 2026, Christmas, I went to Manta Swords.
02:34I took a photo with E.T., the Steven Spielberg character.
02:38I didn't take a photograph of your animatronic wax figure.
02:43It's not there anymore.
02:45What have they done with it?
02:47I think they might have melted it down
02:51so they can have two copies of Will Smith.
02:54Oh.
02:55From the French Miss of May.
02:56There used to be one of me in a pink suit.
02:58Is that gone as well?
02:59Do you think there could be one of me one day?
03:01Probably, yeah.
03:02You should talk some about that.
03:04Yeah.
03:05Yeah.
03:10Thank you, Thomas Love.
03:12Now, we're going to come to Jules.
03:16Hello.
03:18In the past, you've said that some of your idols
03:20have been Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby.
03:24Who's your current idol,
03:25and should we place them on a watch list?
03:31You can't help who you liked when you grew up, you know.
03:34You know, when Michael Jackson sang on the Diana Ross special
03:36and he was like six or seven,
03:38the whole world fell in love with him.
03:40And Bill Cosby, arguably,
03:43was one of the funniest men in the world.
03:46So, maybe it's best not to have idols.
03:48Maybe it's best to believe in yourself
03:50and not be on no watch list.
03:52Yeah.
03:53I think that's some good advice.
03:55Well, thank you.
03:56Michael Jackson was born on exactly the same day as you.
03:59Yeah, he was, yeah.
04:00On the 29th of August, 1958.
04:02Yeah, he was, yeah.
04:03And now a question from Chardonnay.
04:05Chardonnay?
04:05Nice to meet you, sir, Lenny.
04:07Hi, Lenny.
04:08My grandparents are born in the Caribbean.
04:10My parents are from Jamaica.
04:12High respect, sir, Jamaica.
04:13They will rise.
04:15Now, my question is,
04:18was Britain worse when you were younger or now?
04:22Um, I come from a place that was between Smedic,
04:27which is where they had one of the worst elections in the world,
04:30where the slogan was,
04:32if you want an N-word for a neighbour, vote Labour,
04:35and Wolverhampton,
04:36where Enoch Powell made the rivers of blood speech.
04:38So, I grew up in the middle of that.
04:41Personally, um, I was bullied a lot at school.
04:45What?
04:45But, um, I think the day I discovered
04:48that I could be funny,
04:51the people around me who became my friends at school
04:53started to laugh and go,
04:55well, this is Lenny, Lenny's funny, leave him alone.
04:57So, they came to my defence.
04:59And they helped me get through that period of my life
05:01where I was being pushed around a lot.
05:03And now, I think there aren't elements
05:07that would like it to go back to the way it used to be,
05:09but I think we all have to be allies,
05:11and we have to work so that that doesn't happen.
05:14Thank you, Sir Lenny.
05:16Thank you, Chardonnay.
05:17OK, we're going to hear from Nicola now.
05:20Hi, Nicola.
05:26What order do you wash your body parts?
05:30That's a bit personal.
05:32Yeah.
05:32If I said something really rude,
05:34what would you say then?
05:35I'm just asking that question.
05:38LAUGHTER
05:40I always do this.
05:42I do this first, then I do this,
05:44and then I do everything else.
05:45But don't use, um, shower gel or shampoo.
05:50Do you know what?
05:50I like shower gel, but I do like the hard soap.
05:53Soap.
05:53Because you can get it in there.
05:56Get it anywhere?
05:58Wherever.
06:00It doesn't go.
06:02And then other times, I just get the shower head and, you know...
06:05It's the shower head.
06:07Yeah.
06:07To go down.
06:08Yeah.
06:10LAUGHTER
06:12You're watching Premier Inn on TV.
06:15Do you want to go and stay in a Premier Inn?
06:16Yeah.
06:17I know a guy.
06:18You just come to me and I'll sit together.
06:19All right, then.
06:20When is it?
06:21LAUGHTER
06:25Kiwi, you're up.
06:27Hiya.
06:28Wagwan.
06:29Wagwan.
06:30Oh, nice one.
06:31Easy.
06:34How much do you feel like the weight of comic relief
06:37lies on your shoulders?
06:44I never really saw it as a weight.
06:46I wanted to do something.
06:48I got to a place where people looked like me
06:50and they were struggling.
06:53And for the minute I saw that,
06:54I just wanted to do something.
06:57It's not a weight.
06:58It wasn't ever a weight.
07:01Do you regret the white saviour celebrity era?
07:06Speaking as somebody who was in that,
07:07I don't see myself as a white saviour.
07:09But I do think we had to think really hard about
07:11who's making this programme,
07:15who's making the films of the people who need help.
07:19You know, we went to Burkina Faso,
07:21one of the film capitals of the third world,
07:23and there was nobody on our camera crew.
07:25Now, I've worked mainly with a white camera crew
07:27my whole career,
07:29but I did start to realise that actually
07:32it should be more mixed,
07:34it should be more inclusive.
07:36So I did say that stuff.
07:37And it has changed.
07:39Thank you so much.
07:40Right on.
07:41OK, thank you, Hughie.
07:43Comic relief has been the third Friday in March,
07:46and children need has been the third Friday in November.
07:50Is that true?
07:51Yeah, it is true, yeah.
07:53Anand, are you ready?
07:56What's your name?
08:01My question, Danny.
08:03Yes?
08:05When I was on holiday in Hanson,
08:09I saw this seagull eating the duckling.
08:15On the grass.
08:17You saw a seagull eating a duckling?
08:20In his mouth.
08:21The duckling was in his mouth?
08:22Yeah.
08:24What did you do?
08:25Don't know what I did.
08:27LAUGHTER
08:30I saw a dog licking its bum,
08:32and I don't know what I did.
08:33I think I walked away.
08:35LAUGHTER
08:35But that's great.
08:38LAUGHTER
08:38Thank you very much.
08:41LAUGHTER
08:45Wow.
08:46Now we're coming to Mikey.
08:49I don't know whether to bow or not.
08:51Shall I bow?
08:52No, please don't bow.
08:54Right.
08:55Anyway.
08:56So, did your partner strong-arm you into doing this programme?
09:00Oh, well, we watched...
09:02We watched several of the programmes,
09:04and I said,
09:05ooh, it'd be a bit nerve-wracking to be on that show.
09:08And she said, no, you should do it.
09:09And I was like...
09:09LAUGHTER
09:10And then I got asked to be on the show.
09:12And I said, what do you think?
09:14And Lisa said, you should do that.
09:15So, that's why I'm here.
09:18Thanks, Lisa.
09:19All right.
09:20I'm on it now.
09:21It's like being at speeding court.
09:24LAUGHTER
09:25I've never been asked so many questions in my entire life.
09:28I'm done.
09:29I'm going to go back to this now.
09:31All right.
09:32My next question is,
09:33I heard your partner is a casting director.
09:37Casting director, yes.
09:38Yes.
09:38Did you meet her in the audition room?
09:40Are you saying, did she use the casting couch?
09:42Yeah.
09:43LAUGHTER
09:45No, no, she was actually a producer on a show that I did.
09:47I was in Shakespeare's Othello,
09:51and so I met her then.
09:53Aw.
09:53We had lots of cups of tea.
09:55And I just started to like her more and more.
09:58Aw.
09:58Aw.
09:59Why haven't you put a ring on it, then?
10:01Oh!
10:02LAUGHTER
10:05Have you been talking to her?
10:07LAUGHTER
10:09Thank you, Mikey.
10:11Do they just ask you anything here?
10:13Yeah.
10:14LAUGHTER
10:24Just like candy.
10:26I can...
10:27Oh!
10:28Are you good at dancing?
10:29I can move.
10:30Can you dance?
10:31Maybe at the end.
10:33Hello.
10:34Greetings, Rolani Henry.
10:35Greetings.
10:36Throughout your life,
10:37what is the hardest decision
10:39that you had to forgive yourself for?
10:44That's a very good question.
10:48I was in a minstrel show.
10:51Although the guy who ran it kept saying,
10:54it's not about race,
10:55it's about the music and the costumes.
10:58Every time I saw these white guys blacked up,
11:01I just thought,
11:02this does feel like a race thing.
11:04It feels kind of racist.
11:09It did make me have issues.
11:13Like, you're betraying who you are.
11:16You know, my family didn't come to see me
11:17ever when I was in that show.
11:20And it really weighed on me.
11:23I did feel like I was stuck.
11:25And so it made me very down for quite a long time.
11:28Thank you so much.
11:32And now we're going to come to Jodie.
11:35How are you?
11:36I'm fine. How are you?
11:37I'm OK.
11:38We've been talking.
11:40I wasn't doing. I was quiet.
11:41That was the quiet bit.
11:43Do you like EastEnders?
11:44I watch EastEnders.
11:45My mum was a big fan of EastEnders
11:46and Coronation Street and Crossroads.
11:48I don't watch it all the time now, though.
11:49Who's your favourite character
11:50when you used to watch it?
11:52Get out of my pub!
11:53Oh, Peggy Mitchell.
11:55That one.
11:56Yeah, my favourite is,
11:58sorry, because Zoe's back.
12:00Zoe's back!
12:01She thought she'd kill someone,
12:03but it wasn't.
12:03It was her dog to kill someone.
12:05Are you obsessed with EastEnders?
12:06Yes.
12:06Wow.
12:07Wow.
12:08The actress Barbara Windsor
12:09has been dead since 2020.
12:11Yeah.
12:12Yeah.
12:13Wow.
12:14What's your favourite food?
12:16I've got to read.
12:16I'm just celebrating Google guy over here.
12:18Google guy?
12:19Were you literally injected with Google?
12:22It's fantastic that you know all this stuff.
12:24Have you got a dog?
12:25No.
12:26Oh, my sister has.
12:27Really?
12:27What kind of dog?
12:28Rockweiler.
12:30Oh, right.
12:30Rockweiler.
12:32Not come round your gas.
12:34Now we're going to hear from Lydia.
12:36Hello.
12:37Hi, Lydia.
12:38My mum has diabetes.
12:41What type of diabetes do you have?
12:43I have the good one.
12:45I have type 2.
12:47It's a good medication for that.
12:48I had to change my diet.
12:50OK.
12:50And then...
12:51That's how you're slim.
12:52Yeah.
12:53Before you put a lot of weight on TV.
12:56Saying I was fat.
12:58Thanks a lot.
12:59No.
13:03Why are you looking at me so interested?
13:07Gary, you're up.
13:10Now, I'm a bummer in my friend's pub.
13:12Great.
13:13What's your favourite drink of choice?
13:15I like rum.
13:17Because I don't like the Captain Margans.
13:20Yeah.
13:20I like the Rhea Nephew.
13:22Because you only need one of them.
13:24And then you sleep good.
13:26So I like a Rhea Nephew with a Coke.
13:28But generally, squash is good.
13:30Orange squash or summer fruits.
13:32Thank you so much.
13:33Orange squash is good.
13:35I agree with you on that.
13:36I wouldn't drink alcohol.
13:37I don't drink alcohol.
13:38Why not?
13:39It's sometimes sensible not to.
13:41But anyone can drink alcohol if they want.
13:43It's probably good that you don't drink.
13:44Like, you wouldn't remember the dates, maybe.
13:47Well, yeah.
13:49Now, Elida.
13:51Hello.
13:55Would you mind sharing the whole father-uncle situation?
14:02It's a lot.
14:03When I was about 11, my mum said that she wants me to go to Uncle Bertie's house to do
14:11chores on a Friday night.
14:13And I might get pocket money.
14:14And I found out that, eventually, that he was my birth father.
14:20What?
14:22When my mum first came to this country in 1957, I think.
14:27She left behind in Jamaica, four kids and my dad, Winston.
14:32Her mission was to earn money, get somewhere to live, and then send for the rest of the family.
14:40But she met my birth father, who was called Bertie.
14:45She was sick, and he made her soup and looked after her.
14:48And then when she was better, he kind of showed her around Dudley, and I think they fell in love,
14:54basically.
14:55She really relied on him in those early days.
14:58She wrote to my dad and said, there's a whole thing going on here.
15:03I'm pregnant.
15:04But if you can't forgive me, then we'll just go our separate ways.
15:11But he said, I forgive you.
15:13And so Winston came to Britain with my sister Kay, and they became a family again.
15:18You know, we make our family and our relationships where we find them.
15:24If we're in trouble, we lean on each other.
15:26They went through a whole thing there, and it's something to survive, and they did survive it.
15:31That's amazing.
15:32I like that.
15:37Sean!
15:40Here's my man who read the thing at the beginning.
15:43Go on, Sean.
15:44Dude!
15:46Hello, Lenny Henry.
15:47It's just Lenny.
15:48You can just call me Lenny.
15:49Okay, Lenny, Lenny.
15:53The question is,
15:56what is your favourite memory of your late mother?
16:03Lots of memories.
16:04Lots of them about food.
16:05She used to give you this soup bowl.
16:08That was this big.
16:09And we had to finish it.
16:11You must finish it, you know.
16:12Finish the soup.
16:13And we had to be like this.
16:15We'd sleep all the way through the wrestling.
16:17Yeah, I got lots of memory of my mother as well.
16:22She passed away...
16:26...through 2009.
16:28But you still remember her?
16:30Yeah.
16:31I really miss her.
16:32I'm pretty sure you miss your mum as well.
16:35Yeah, my mum was sick for seven years.
16:37Yeah.
16:40And when she was really sick, I was supposed to go on tour to Australia.
16:46And I said to the doctor, I should not go to Australia.
16:50And he went, no, no, no.
16:51He said, we've got this, Len.
16:53Your mum will be fine.
16:55I was there for four days.
16:57I did a show.
16:59And interestingly, in the interval, I went to the dressing room and I just sat in the dressing room and
17:04I closed my eyes.
17:05And I heard voices talking to me.
17:07And one of them was my mum's saying, you're going to be all right.
17:10You're going to have a good time tonight.
17:12And I did the second half.
17:13And it was a fantastic show.
17:15And then at the end, the promoter came in and said, I've got some bad news for you.
17:20Your mum's passed away.
17:21Yeah.
17:22And it was a whirlwind.
17:26And to stop the tour for like 15 days, because I had to bury my mum.
17:30And every show from that moment on, I was shaking.
17:34But the audiences were so lovely.
17:36They held me up.
17:37And I hope your friends held you up too.
17:40Yeah, I agree.
17:42I agree.
17:49Right, we're going to move on to setting up for something for you.
17:53You're with me drinking alcohol.
17:54I mean, I remember all the dates when I, and I've tried alcohol, I haven't liked it.
17:58Do you remember the dates when you drank alcohol?
18:00I definitely do, yeah.
18:01But the viewers would, we won't have time.
18:04It's a half an hour show.
18:06It's a half an hour show.
18:09It's, it's good, the viewers might not get the information they want.
18:13Because we won't, I won't be able to say all the information.
18:16No, I didn't.
18:18And let's get to have a hug.
18:22Lean on me when you're not strong I'll be your friend
18:30I'll help you carry on For it won't be long
18:38Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on
18:49Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow
18:57But if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow
19:04Lean on me when you're not strong I'll be your friend
19:12I'll help you carry on For it won't be long
19:20Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on
19:29Please swallow your pride
19:31If I have things you need to borrow
19:38All right, no one can feel those of your needs
19:42And you can let it show
19:44Oh, oh, oh
19:47You just call on me brother when you need a hand
19:53We all need somebody to lean on
19:58I just might have a problem that you don't understand
20:03We all need somebody to lean on
20:09If there's a load you have to bear that you can't carry
20:21I'm right up the road I share your load
20:25If you just call me
20:30Call me, call me, call me Call me, call me, call me
20:41Lean on me When you're not strong
20:45I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on
20:52For it won't be long
20:56So I'm gonna need somebody to lean on
21:03Lean on
21:35You did great again, Jules.
21:38Well done, Jules.
21:40You've done good, man.
21:42It was the right thing you came on this show.
21:44Do you think so? Yeah.
21:46I felt like it was an honour to be with you today.
21:51It was an authentic experience.
21:54And I've loved being with you.
21:56It's been weird.
21:59You get asked things that you never get asked on the one show.
22:02And you're expected to answer the questions properly.
22:05I hope I've done that.
22:07Have I done that? Yes, definitely.
22:14You guys are fantastic.
22:17Oh, my days!
22:20But I'm not going to dance on my own.
22:29This is great.
22:44This is the same feeling.
22:51I always seem to get around you.
22:55There's no mistaking.
22:57I'm clearly taken.
22:59By a simple deal for me.
23:01Up, yeah
23:11The step is starting now
23:14The step is starting now
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