Amelia Beth Dimoldenberg (/dɪˈmldənbɜːrɡ/ dim-OHL-dən-burg; born 30 January 1994) is an English comedian and presenter. She is the creator and host of the web series Chicken Shop Date, in which she interviews celebrities in fried chicken restaurants while subjecting them to her sarcastic, deadpan, and awkward sense of humour.[2][3][4][5]

Amelia Dimoldenberg
Born
Amelia Beth Dimoldenberg

(1994-01-30) 30 January 1994 (age 30)
London, England
Alma materCentral Saint Martins (BA)
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • presenter
Years active2014–present
Comedy career
Genres
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers2.74 million[1]
Total views617.0 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2018
1,000,000 subscribers2022

Last updated: 3 November 2024

Early life

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Dimoldenberg was born in the Westminster area of London on 30 January 1994, the daughter of retired librarian Linda and Public Relations executive and Westminster City Council member Paul Dimoldenberg.[6] Her father is a Labour Party councillor in the Westminster City Council aside from his work as the Chairman of a Media and PR agency.[7] She is Jewish.[8] She grew up in Marylebone and attended St Marylebone School.[9] She gained A-levels in English, art, politics, and IT,[10] before studying for a foundation diploma in Art and Design and a BA in Fashion Communication at Central Saint Martins, where she graduated in 2017.[11] She said that her time at university was spent "on the outskirts of the ultra-fashionable scene" and that she "left the party-going to those who had the stamina, and the invite".[12]

Career

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Chicken Shop Date

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Chicken Shop Date began as a humorous column written by Dimoldenberg for the youth magazine The Cut, which was based at the Stowe Centre youth club on Harrow Road.[6] It was other members' interest in grime music that led her to interview grime artists, as she wanted to know more about the music, and she began by interviewing "friends of friends".[13] Dimoldenberg had the idea to frame the interviews as dates, and the location of a chicken shop was chosen as it was "somewhere you wouldn't usually go on a date".[13] The first filmed episode was released in 2014, featuring a "date" with grime MC Ghetts.[4]

Each episode takes around 40 minutes to film, with the finished episode being edited down to a maximum of seven minutes.[13] Dimoldenberg has described her persona in the show as "an exaggerated version" of herself, adding that "in the edit is where the character comes through, we chop and cut things, we make it more awkward".[13] While noting that Chicken Shop Date is "not as popular" as American interview formats like Hot Ones, Between Two Ferns, and Carpool Karaoke, Jonah Engel Bromwich of The New York Times has described it as "notable for the way in which it has grown through tapping into a specific subculture" and that "capturing an audience of music enthusiasts has given the show credibility".[14]

Dimoldenberg is known for surprising her chicken shop guests by posing preposterous questions about aspects of their image, art, or public perception. For example, Dimoldenberg asked Phoebe Bridgers, a singer who wore a skeleton onesie for the duration of a 2-year tour, if she thinks "dressing as a skeleton is promoting an unhealthy body image?"[15]

Television

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In early 2018, Dimoldenberg presented the Channel 4 documentary Meet the Markles, in which she travelled to the United States to meet members of Meghan Markle's family.[5] The Telegraph called it "an entertaining ride [...] slicked by moments of real hilarity"[3] and the Evening Standard described it as an "instant hit".[16] Later that year, she appeared in an episode of The Big Narstie Show.[17] In October, she appeared as a "roving reporter" in the first series of the ITV2 hip hop-themed comedy show Don't Hate the Playaz.[18] The series was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.[19] Dimoldenberg did not appear in the second series.[19]

In 2020, Dimoldenberg appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity Come Dine with Me with Marcel Somerville, Dave Benson Phillips, Anthea Turner, and AJ Odudu.[20]

In December 2021, it was announced that Dimoldenberg would host a web shorts series titled Celebrity Rebrand for Channel 4.[21] The first season, consisting of six episodes, was released via the network's social media channels.[22][23] The comedy show features Dimoldenberg as a "celebrity brand visionary" attempting to assist various Channel 4 stars in rebranding their image.

In 2022, Dimoldenberg became a brand ambassador for Olay.[24] In January 2023, she appeared on a "New Year's Treat" episode of Taskmaster alongside Self Esteem, Mo Farah, Greg James, and Carol Vorderman. On 29 January 2024, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Dimoldenberg as their red carpet correspondent for the 96th Academy Awards.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "About Amelia Dimoldenberg". YouTube.
  2. ^ Grant, Kirsty (2 December 2019). "Chicken Shop Date: 'People who aren't white have to work harder to enter this space'". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b Ough, Tom (15 May 2018). "Meet the Markles, review: a funny, all-American whopper of a failure to get an invite to Harry and Meghan's wedding". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b McMahon, Milly (22 October 2018). "Meet Amelia Dimoldenberg, The One-Woman Powerhouse Giving Out Laughs To The Grime Scene". Complex. Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b Allen, Ben (15 May 2018). "This Channel 4 documentary shows a new side to Meghan Markle's family – and its presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b Polianskaya, Alina (17 February 2017). "Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg cries foul over youth cuts". Camden New Journal. New Journal Enterprises. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  7. ^ Haramis, Nick (26 February 2022). "Finding Love, One Nugget at a Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  8. ^ Amelia Dimoldenberg (25 July 2020). "Solidarity with all my fellow Jewish people that are having to witness and be the subject of such vile anti-semitism, not just today but on a daily basis. It is unacceptable hate speech". x.com. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Revelations 008: Amelia Dimoldenberg". The Face. Wasted Talent. 28 March 2020. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Amelia Dimoldenberg". Equate. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Amelia Dimoldenberg | Central Saint Martins". University of the Arts London. 7 May 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  12. ^ Dimoldenberg, Amelia (19 September 2018). "What Happened When Amelia Dimoldenberg Became Miss Vogue's LFW Party Reporter". Vogue. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d Kent-Smith, Jasmine (14 August 2017). "Chicken Shop Date is the dating show we actually want to watch". Mixmag. Wasted Talent. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  14. ^ Bromwich, Jonah Engel (12 March 2020). "There Are Too Many Celebrities. Here's How We're Dealing With Them as a Society". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Youtube.com". YouTube. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  16. ^ Taylor, Joanna (27 March 2020). "The Big ES Friday Night In: Who is... Amelia Dimoldenberg?". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  17. ^ "The Big Narstie Show – Series 1 – Episode 5". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  18. ^ "ITV2 commissions Don't Hate The Playaz". ITV Press Centre. ITV plc. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  19. ^ a b "ITV2 recommissions Don't Hate The Playaz and The Stand Up Sketch Show". ITV Press Centre. ITV plc. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  20. ^ Earp, Catherine (17 January 2020). "Love Island star and children's TV legend taking part in Celebrity Come Dine with Me". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Channel 4 orders Celebrity Rebrand from Amelia Dimoldenberg". British Comedy Guide. 3 December 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Celebrity Rebrand - Comedy". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Celebrity Rebrand – All 4". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Amelia Dimoldenberg: 'It's like women aren't allowed to be both funny and hot'". Glamour UK. 31 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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