Chicken Shop Date presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg says she isn’t as awkward as her sometimes cringe-inducing TV persona. “I’ve always been someone who’s very social and has lots of friends” she tells us.
And people are surprised when they meet that she’s actually very sociable. “How I am in my videos is like an exagerated version of my own personality where I act more awkward and I’m more deadpan than I am in real life” Dimoldenberg explains.
Perhaps because of her down-to-earth show, “when people recognise me they don’t really know why they’ve stopped me... they think they’ve gone to school with me”. Dimoldenberg finds herself having to explain what should happen next: “You’ve stopped me because you want to ask for picture”.
Dimoldenberg has interviewed Louis Theroux and Ed Sheeran as well as grime and rap stars including Dave and AJ Tracey for Chicken Shop Date in different locations around London. But while you might assume that she is loved across the capital’s chicken shops, that isn’t necessarily the case, she says.
“Most chicken shops do not care about me and my show” she says. “They’re just more concerned about serving chicken and chips. People love chicken.” She explains that when the shops are shut down for filming days, a large queue forms of hungry customers.
Being a dating expert, albeit only at chicken shops, we wondered if Dimoldenberg had any tips for finding love. “A pub is always a good place because it’s more of a casual setting that you are used to” she says. And it’s not a bad idea to eat too. “Some people would find that intimidating... but at least if you’re stuck for conversation you can talk about the food” she suggests. “And then if it really does go horribly wrong at least you’re not hungry”.
“It’s nice that dating has got back to normal” she says. Amelia is currently working with drinks brand Smirnoff on their ‘spotaneous summer’ 2022 campaign.
Finally, The Londoner was intrigued to ask Amelia about her dad, Paul Dimoldenberg , who is a Labour councillor in Westminster, newly in power. Last month, Labour won the borough for the first ever time.
It wasn’t the plan for Paul to still be in politics, she says: he’d planned to retire this year, and only put his name down for Hyde Park as a paper candidate. “My dad’s been a Labour councillor for my whole life, but he’s always been in opposition, for 30 years” she said. “When I went round with a bottle of prosecco... my mum was there head in her hands, saying ‘I can’t believe this, he’s going to be working more than ever’” she laughs. But: “I’m very proud” Amelia says. “Our stars are rising at the same time, him in his work and me in mine”.
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The Smirnoff ambassador tells us she might petition her dad for more chicken shops in central London because “there’s only about three”. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
