Going Steady with Amelia Dimoldenberg
Make it stand out
In 2016, the bubblegum feminists of the internet were gifted a new catchphrase: Resting Bitch Face. The crux of the term was to criticise the notion that a woman who isn’t smiling - or looking interested at the very least - would be seen as a bitch by a patriarchal society.
Because a resting bitch face, (also known as an RBF), was seen as undesirable to men, thousands of internet savvy millennials were practising their scowls for selfies and sitting sullenly in local coffee shops, while simultaneously taking Buzzfeed quizzes to see which celebrity RBF represented us the best.
Amelia Dimoldenberg, the chicken nugget aficionado with the best comedic deadpan delivery on any screen, tells me she has been blessed with a RBF from a very young age. “The reason why I’m good at being deadpan on camera is just because I’ve always found it very easy to be deadpan in real life. There’s no secret to doing it. Keeping a straight face is something I’ve always been able to do from a young age. My face just looks like that - thank you to my parents.”
“You make jokes about yourself so nobody can make those jokes about you.”
The RBF became a symbol of cool girl aloofness. Infighting broke out among young women trying to out-RBF each other. The idiom made its way over to Etsy and as 2021 comes to a close, it’s easy to imagine coming across a ‘beauty, grace and resting bitch face’ mug on the shelves of your local charity shop.
Amelia Dimoldenberg, the chicken nugget aficionado with the best comedic deadpan delivery on any screen, tells me she has been blessed with a RBF from a very young age. “The reason why I’m good at being deadpan on camera is just because I’ve always found it very easy to be deadpan in real life. There’s no secret to doing it. Keeping a straight face is something I’ve always been able to do from a young age. My face just looks like that - thank you to my parents.”
When comedians use their own names for characters - in this case, think Ilana and Abbi in Broad City over Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men - the audience begins to believe said character is exactly the same as the person playing the role. Speaking in person on the day of our shoot and again over video call, it’s clear that Amelia isn’t half as awkward as she’s pretending to be in her shows Chicken Shop Date, Amelia’s Cooking Show, Who Cares? and the newest series, Celebrity Rebrand.
“As a child, in secondary school, I didn’t have a lot of friends and my sense of humour grew out of that need to make friends. I was a bit awkward and a bit of a nerd, but I used that to my advantage.” Amelia explains, “You make jokes about yourself so nobody can make those jokes about you.”
A teenage Amelia loved horse riding, Doctor Who and collecting trolls. Maybe not the hobbies of a potential beau for the likes of Sean Paul or Big Narstie, but these moments were the beginnings of making Amelia into an on screen star. “When I was 11 or 12 I used to record musicals with my trolls collection and upload them to Facebook, which when I think about it was probably the first time I started making video content - my trolls in musicals.”
Eventually, Amelia replaced the trolls with herself, swapping musicals for interviewing celebrity guests. Starting originally as a column with The Cut eight years ago (now out of print, The Cut was a magazine run out of a youth club in North West London), Chicken Shop Date is still growing in popularity and virality almost a decade later. It’s success, Amelia credits, to an original idea and sheer determination.
“I’ve always believed in the show - I never accepted ‘no’ when it comes to guests. If we can’t get them now, what strategy do we need to put in place to get them later?” She enthuses, “even as it gets bigger I’ll always be really involved in the show, because at the end of the day it's me. It's me who’s in it, and I like being involved in all the elements of making this content. I think that’s how it’s gotten to the place it is today - because of how involved I am.”
While Amelia’s determined nature is evident in her body of work, she attributes part of her tenacity to watching her dad - Paul Dimoldenberg, Westminster City Councillor for Queen's Park Ward - and his passion for work growing up.
“When I was at home I noticed that my dad is always working. When we would arrive back from football at like 10pm, he would then be writing up an action report for the local area he's a councillor for.” She describes, “he’s always working, and maybe that's where I get it from. My mum is the same, she can’t sit still for very long - that has maybe made me who I am.”
Shooting for the stars has worked well for Amelia and after finding her niche while interviewing them, she is now turning her sights to not only taking them to the chicken shop but into her office. Amelia’s new show, Celebrity Rebrand, brings in iconic British TV stars like Clare Balding, Romesh Ranganathan, Jamie Laing and more for (you guessed it) a brand makeover. As notoriously awkward and tongue in cheek as ever, the first episode sees Jimmy Carr getting lectured on being a “big mean meanie” and addressing how to change his public image.
“I hope that when people watch it, they laugh and enjoy it, but also see that I take this seriously and am a serious comedian.” Amelia confesses, “I sometimes find it awkward to call myself a comedian - maybe it's because of a lack of self belief - but I am one. There’s this issue within comedy where if you don't do stand up then you’re not a serious comedian. But I don’t believe that. The world is changing and comedy can be put out on many different platforms now.”
“There’s this whole trope where people say women aren’t funny, when all the funniest people I know are women.”
As well as standing up for her own - well deserved - space in the comedy scene, this summer saw Amelia launch her own female focused production company Dimz Inc.
“Within comedy there is still such an overstauration by men - there’s this whole trope where people say women aren’t funny, when all the funniest people I know are women.” Amelia explains, “Within all aspects of society, women are still not equal to men. There are changes that always need to be made so women are put on the same standing as men. I think it’s important to knock down as many doors as possible when you’re doing well.”
She continues, “That is always so much more possible when you work together with other women, and help those in your scene who come up with you. That’s the only way really to make a difference and make a change.”
Those who follow Amelia on social media, have watched Who Cares or even most recently read the above two paragraphs, know that Amelia identifies as a feminist. With a deeper reading, her comedic characters purport this message too.
“It would be a completely different show if it was a man in my position. I’m sure it would work in some regard, but it would be something else entirely. It’s fun seeing a woman in control on the date.” Amelia observes, “My character blends uninterested and awkward with being desperate, the mix of those opposites adds to the comedy and character.” Not only that, all three of these characteristics aren’t just unexpected from women on dates - and women in general - but Chicken Shop Date gives them an edge.
In a world where women are expected to be the accommodating one, the intuitive one, the conscious one, Amelia spins the notion on its head and poses an important point - without a conscientious, distinctly female effort to make a date work, where will the conversation go?
“Someone asks a question and I just sit there in silence, and it just throws the guy off which I love doing. They aren’t in control, I’m in control - which is what I think people like about it.” Amelia adds. “Awkwardness is powerful. It’s a tool that has been used within British comedy forever - I do think it’s very inherently British - but when a woman is doing it, I think it’s even more special.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: Megan Winstone | CREATIVE DIRECTION: Ione Gamble | WRITER: Gina Tonic | STYLING: Chloe Griffin | MAKEUP: Grace Ellington | HAIR: Benjamin David | SET DESIGN: Lucy Cooper | LIGHTING AND TECH: Brian Whar | PRODUCTION MANAGER: Eden Young | VIDEOGRAPHER: Charlotte Amy Landrum
Amelia wears Valentino, shop the full party collection here.
