After more than a decade of watching A-listers squirm over fried chicken and painfully honest banter, Amelia Dimoldenberg is closing the book on Chicken Shop Date. The British creator confirmed the news in an Instagram post Thursday morning, telling fans the show that made her a household name is coming to an end after 12 years and over 100 episodes.
The story of Chicken Shop Date starts long before YouTube got involved. Amelia dreamed up the concept at just 17, originally as a column for a youth magazine. The premise was simple and a little absurd: what if she took the world's biggest stars on a date, but the venue was always a neighbourhood chicken shop?
In her announcement, Amelia wrote, “When I was 17 I had a fantastic idea that I might meet the love of my life on a date in a chicken shop. I’ve spent my entire twenties sitting across from the most incredible people, people I’d always dreamt of meeting. All of them charmed me (some more than others) and I definitely charmed them. To me the show is my very own romcom and I have loved creating so many stories for you to watch. I am so grateful to everyone who has followed me on this journey and found some joy in these episodes. I never thought I’d stop Chicken Shop Date, I thought maybe it would be a part of me forever, and in some way it always will, but I feel like it’s now time to move on from this adventure and onto a new one. But before I say goodbye forever, I want to celebrate everything Chicken Shop Date has been for me with a few final dates…coming very soon. Love Amelia x.” No exact end date has been announced, but the final episodes are expected soon.
The filmed series had launched on YouTube in March 2014, and it took a while to catch fire. According to Amelia, the tipping point came when Daniel Kaluuya — then still years away from his Oscar win — agreed to appear simply because he was already a fan of the format.
From there, the guest list snowballed into a who's who of music, film and sport: Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Cher, Jennifer Lawrence, Central Cee, Jack Harlow, Little Simz and Louis Theroux all sat across from Amelia’s now-iconic deadpan stare. Her recurring, only-half-joking flirtation with Andrew Garfield became something of a running saga in itself, delighting fans across multiple episodes and red carpets.
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