Amelia Dimoldenberg
Amelia Dimoldenberg | |||||||
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Born | 30 January 1994 | ||||||
Nationality | British | ||||||
Alma mater | Central Saint Martins | ||||||
Years active | 2014–present | ||||||
Genres | |||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
Channel | |||||||
Subscribers | 420,000[1] | ||||||
Total views | 60.9 million[1] | ||||||
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Last updated: 29 June 2020 |
Amelia Dimoldenberg (/dɪˈmoʊldənbɜːrɡ/; born 30 January 1994) is an English journalist, comedian, YouTuber and television presenter. She created the web series Chicken Shop Date, in which she interviews rappers and grime artists in fried chicken restaurants.[2][3] She is known for her use of sarcasm, deadpan humour and awkward silences in her interviews.[4][5]
Dimoldenberg has also written for The Guardian[6] and Vogue,[7] and made documentaries for Vice Media[8] and Channel 4. She has appeared on the television programmes The Big Narstie Show, Don't Hate the Playaz and Celebrity Come Dine With Me. In September 2019, Dimoldenberg was named the 77th biggest influencer in the UK by The Sunday Times.[9] In October of the same year, the Evening Standard included her in its Progress 1000, a list of "London's most influential people".[10]
Biography
Early life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Central_Saint_Martins_College_of_Arts_and_Design_King%27s_Cross.jpg/200px-Central_Saint_Martins_College_of_Arts_and_Design_King%27s_Cross.jpg)
Dimoldenberg grew up in Marylebone in the City of Westminster.[11] Her father is Paul Dimoldenberg, a Labour Party member of Westminster City Council.[12] She studied A-levels in English, art, politics and IT,[13] and went on to obtain a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design and a BA in Fashion Communication from Central Saint Martins, London.[8] Of her time at university, she has written, "I was always on the outskirts of the ultra-fashionable scene and left the party-going to those who had the stamina, and the invite".[7]
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, a youth club on Harrow Road, London.[12] It was other members' interest in grime that led her to interview grime artists, as she "wanted to know more about the music"; she began by interviewing "friends of friends".[14] 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".[14] The first filmed episode was released in 2014 – it featured a "date" with the grime MC Ghetts.[4] The show has since featured Sean Paul, Daniel Kaluuya, Dave, AJ Tracey and Big Narstie, among others.[4][15]
The filming of each episode takes around 40 minutes; finished episodes last at most five.[14] Dimoldenberg has described her persona in the show as "an exaggerated version of myself" adding that "[i]n the edit is where the character comes through, we chop and cut things, we make it more awkward".[14] While noting that Chicken Shop Date is "not as popular" as American interview formats like Hot Ones, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis 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", writing that "[c]apturing an audience of music enthusiasts has given the show credibility".[16]
Television
In 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".[17] However, the Metro's JJ Nattrass wrote that "many viewers at home didn’t quite get what the show or its host were aiming for, and were left feeling confused", but conceded that "there were also plenty of viewers who genuinely enjoyed the satirical skew of the programme".[18]
The same year, she appeared in an episode of The Big Narstie Show alongside David Haye, Rachel Parris and Krept and Konan.[19] In October 2018, she appeared in the first series of the ITV2 hip hop-themed comedy show Don't Hate the Playaz as a "roving reporter".[20] The programme was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award in the Entertainment category.[21] Dimoldenberg did not appear in the second series,[22] which aired in autumn 2019.[21] In 2020 she appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity Come Dine With Me with Marcel Somerville, Dave Benson Phillips, Anthea Turner and AJ Odudu.[23]
References
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Dimoldenberg, Amelia (15 December 2017). "I spent half my student days in chicken shops. Just as worthwhile as a seminar". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ a b Dimoldenberg, Amelia (19 September 2018). "What Happened When Amelia Dimoldenberg Became Miss Vogue's LFW Party Reporter". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Amelia Dimoldenberg | Central Saint Martins". University of the Arts London. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "The Sunday Times Influencer List 2019: meet the UK's top 100". The Sunday Times. News UK. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020. (Subscription required.)
- ^ "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2019 – 25 future faces 25 and under". Evening Standard. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Revelations 008: Amelia Dimoldenberg". The Face. Wasted Talent. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Amelia Dimoldenberg". Equate. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Shadijanova, Diyora (12 April 2020). "Amelia Dimoldenberg Won't Stop 'Chicken Shop Date' For Anything, Not Even Lockdown". Bustle. Bustle Digital Group. 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. The New York Times Company. 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.
- ^ Nattrass, JJ (16 May 2018). "Some people were left seriously confused when it came to Channel 4's Meet The Markles". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 10 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Dimoldenberg, Amelia [@ameliadimz] (30 May 2019). "Retuning (without me) I was overshadowing all the other cast members so they had to let me go" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 June 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ 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.
External links
- 1994 births
- Living people
- 21st-century English comedians
- Alumni of Central Saint Martins
- Comedians from London
- Comedy YouTubers
- English documentary filmmakers
- English women comedians
- English television presenters
- English women journalists
- English YouTubers
- Female YouTubers
- The Guardian journalists
- Vice Media
- YouTube Silver Play Button recipients