Amelia Dimoldenberg
Amelia Dimoldenberg (/dɪˈmoʊldənbɜːrɡ/; born 30 January 1994) is an English comedian and presenter. She created and hosted 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 | ||||||||||
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Born | London, England | 30 January 1994|||||||||
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Years active | 2014–present | |||||||||
Comedy career | ||||||||||
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YouTube information | ||||||||||
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Subscribers | 2.08 million[1] | |||||||||
Total views | 366.2 million[1] | |||||||||
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Last updated: 13 October 2023 |
Early life
Dimoldenberg was born in the Westminster area of London on 30 January 1994, the daughter of retired librarian Linda and Westminster City Council member Paul Dimoldenberg.[6] Her father is a member of the Labour Party.[7] She grew up in Marylebone and attended St Marylebone School.[8] She gained A-levels in English, art, politics, and IT,[9] before studying for a foundation diploma in Art and Design and a BA in Fashion Communication at Central Saint Martins.[10] 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".[11]
Career
Chicken Shop Date
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".[12] 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".[12] 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.[12] 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".[12] 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".[13]
Television
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".[14] Later that year, she appeared in an episode of The Big Narstie Show.[15] 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.[16] The series was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.[17] Dimoldenberg did not appear in the second series.[17]
In 2020, Dimoldenberg appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity Come Dine with Me with Marcel Somerville, Dave Benson Phillips, Anthea Turner, and AJ Odudu.[18]
In December 2021, it was announced that Dimoldenberg would host a web shorts series titled Celebrity Rebrand for Channel 4.[19] The first season, consisting of six episodes, was released via the network's social media channels.[20][21] 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.[22] In January 2023, she appeared on a "New Year's Treat" episode of Taskmaster alongside Self Esteem, Mo Farah, Greg James, and Carol Vorderman.
References
- "About Amelia Dimoldenberg". YouTube.
- Grant, Kirsty (2 December 2019). "Chicken Shop Date: 'People who aren't white have to work harder to enter this space'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- 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. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- McMahon, Milly (22 October 2018). "Meet Amelia Dimoldenberg, The One-Woman Powerhouse Giving Out Laughs To The Grime Scene". Complex. Complex Networks. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- 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. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- Polianskaya, Alina (17 February 2017). "Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg cries foul over youth cuts". Camden New Journal. New Journal Enterprises. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- Haramis, Nick (26 February 2022). "Finding Love, One Nugget at a Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- "Revelations 008: Amelia Dimoldenberg". The Face. Wasted Talent. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- "Amelia Dimoldenberg". Equate. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- "Amelia Dimoldenberg | Central Saint Martins". University of the Arts London. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- Dimoldenberg, Amelia (19 September 2018). "What Happened When Amelia Dimoldenberg Became Miss Vogue's LFW Party Reporter". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- Kent-Smith, Jasmine (14 August 2017). "Chicken Shop Date is the dating show we actually want to watch". Mixmag. Wasted Talent. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- 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. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- Taylor, Joanna (27 March 2020). "The Big ES Friday Night In: Who is... Amelia Dimoldenberg?". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- "The Big Narstie Show – Series 1 – Episode 5". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- "ITV2 commissions Don't Hate The Playaz". ITV Press Centre. ITV plc. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- "ITV2 recommissions Don't Hate The Playaz and The Stand Up Sketch Show". ITV Press Centre. ITV plc. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- 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. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- "Channel 4 orders Celebrity Rebrand from Amelia Dimoldenberg". British Comedy Guide. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- "Celebrity Rebrand - Comedy". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- "Celebrity Rebrand – All 4". Channel 4. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- "Amelia Dimoldenberg: 'It's like women aren't allowed to be both funny and hot'". Glamour UK. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2023.