Stephen Fry asked very personal question about 30-year age gap relationship by neurodivergent interviewer
The stars who appear on ITV's hit show The Assembly are forewarned that no topic is off limits - but Stephen Fry 'wasn't expecting' that his sex life would be up for discussion.
The interviewers left no stone unturned when they sat down with the former QI host, who was grilled about his favourite positions in the bedroom as well as what having a husband 30 years his junior is like.
Fry admitted he was left stunned by how 'direct' the questions were and confessed he was left red-faced when the intimate topics came up.
However, he still had huge appreciation for the 'frankness, openness and genuine curiosity' that those who gave him the third degree had.
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Fry, 68, is one of half a dozen celebrities who will appear on the second series of The Assembly, which returns to screens on Wednesday (8 April) on ITV.
The set-up is simple, but genius - and it sees a 'remarkable group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled' have no-nonsense discussions with household names.
Fry's relationship with his 38-year-old husband Elliott Spencer was a prominent topic of the conversation, even though the screen star usually prefers to keep tidbits about his marriage to himself.
It all started out fairly tame, with one interviewer explaining he wanted to find out more about how Fry went about 'finding a husband'.
The Celebrity Traitors alum explained that the dating world is a lot 'different' these days, while reassuring the bloke that he 'deserved' to find love too.
After getting those niceties out of the way, The Assembly interviewer then dived in with a much more colourful query...about Fry's favourite sex position.
When asked how he and Spencer prefer to arrange themselves when getting intimate, Fry couldn't help but laugh as he replied: "Wow, that is as direct as it gets.
"I'm going to leave that a mystery, I think that's best. Thank you for raising it, it's a very important point. That was a great moment."
The Assembly stars then switched gears slightly, as one woman asked Fry what he would say to critics 'who don't like age-gap relationships', while explaining she herself is in one.
The It's a Sin actor has previously told how his husband Spencer 'teaches' him things to ensure he remains young at heart, such as what a 'great poetical spirit' rapper Kendrick Lamar is and the 'extraordinary' world of WWE.
The pair got hitched 10 days after announcing their engagement in 2015, which came three years after they met at a house party.
Fry told those quizzing him during The Assembly that he doesn't pay people who have something negative to say about age-gap relationships any mind.
"I feel a bit sorry for them," the TV star said. "I don’t see why they should have such an opinion about things. The only thing that should matter in a relationship is love and if you feel it."
He pointed out that this feeling should be 'felt on both sides' and 'not an exploitative relationship'.
"I always say to people that in our relationship, Elliot has all the power, really," Fry went on. "He makes a lot of the decisions about things because I trust him to.
"It just works for us, extremely well, and if people don’t like it, well, sod them."
Speaking ahead of the premiere of his episode of The Assembly, the London-born broadcaster said he had a ball during the interview - even if he was seriously taken aback.
Fry said: "I think the rather eye-watering curiosity as to my sexual preferences...well, I wasn't expecting that! [I was] as embarrassed, awkward and uncoordinated as I always feel when dancing.
"The frankness, the openness, the genuine curiosity. These are not things one is used to in the normal run of journalistic inquisition.
"It kept me on my toes as much as I expected. But it was also friendlier and more fun than I had feared."
The Assembly returns on Wednesday at 10.05pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
Topics: Celebrity, Celebrity News, Stephen Fry, Sex and Relationships, ITV
Olivia Burke