You might already be familiar with Timmy, Avenue Parramatta’s quintessential creative, who we featured in an article in 2024. In it, we touched on Timmy’s love for his work at Avenue, alongside his passions for singing, dancing, and vegan cooking, which he shares with 1.8 thousand subscribers on his YouTube channel, Timmy’s Vegan Kitchen.
Timmy is confident, enthusiastic, outgoing and smart – so it came as no surprise to us that he was selected to feature on season two of the ABC’s The Assembly last year.
For those unfamiliar, The Assembly follows a group of Autistic journalism students at Macquarie University, as they hone their skills while being mentored by Leigh Sales, and supported as they interview some of Australia’s most renowned personalities.
Passing the audition
After a lengthy audition process, Timmy was ecstatic to learn he’d been selected for the show. “I was very excited, and I’m the only one in my family who has been on a TV show,” said Timmy.
Timmy found the entire experience to be an exciting and fulfilling one. He mentions working within a cohort of people with the same disability to be a particularly heartwarming experience, alongside some entertaining and humorous moments.
“It was amazing. I got to know everyone, and even though we had the same diagnosis, we’re different people. I got to meet other people from Western Australia, down to Canberra… all over Australia.
“But my favourite part was sitting next to the celebrities. I sat right next to Guy Sebastian. I liked singing with Guy, and I liked Richard Roxburgh. But Julia Morris is my top number one because she was so funny. She has ADHD and was diagnosed in 2024 when she was 56 years old,” said Timmy.
A chance to grow
Not only was it a memorable experience for Timmy, but it also provided opportunities for personal growth, with some challenges along the way.
“I had some struggles learning to sign the contract, and keeping the secret for so long, and not posting it on my social media. Another struggle was not having Wi-Fi or mobile data at home while filming. I couldn’t even research the celebrities on my own and had to work only from the information they gave me.”
But with challenges come important lessons, and Timmy notes that he had many.
“I learned a lot. I learned about journalism and I learned that to be a good journalist you need to be honest and find the true facts. I also learned that I am very patient – I had to sit there for three plus hours listening to everyone ask their questions and then the celebrity giving extra-long answers, and we sometimes filmed up to four days a week.”
From Avenue to the ABC
These experiences built on the skills Timmy had developed at Avenue, like communication and confidence, which helped him navigate the fast-paced environment of the show.
Timmy credits much of his success on The Assembly to this foundation. “The things I learned at Avenue, like social skills and asking questions to everyone, really helped my confidence and prepared me for the filming,” he said.
We look forward to seeing Timmy’s future creative endeavours – with an autobiography on the horizon, new songs that he is working on with his music teacher, and a fictional novel in the works too.
If you want to watch Timmy on The Assembly, head to ABC iView.
