After more than a decade of flirting with movie stars and athletes while nibbling on fried chicken, Amelia Dimoldenberg announced on social media that she would conclude “Chicken Shop Date,” the popular eight-minute YouTube talk show she created.

“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,” she said on Instagram. “I’ve spent my entire 20s 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.” She did, however, tease the release of a few more Chicken Shop Dates before officially closing up shop.

Over the past 12 years, Dimoldenberg has produced more than 100 episodes of the show, garnered more than 3 million subscribers and fueled the creation of several viral internet moments. The premise is simple: In each episode, she goes on a blind date with a celebrity at a fried chicken shop in London. Taking inspiration from Zach Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns,” which was designed to make famous people, such as President Barack Obama, uncomfortable, Dimoldenberg is intentionally awkward, sarcastic and deadpan.

It’s an affect that puts some of the sexiest stars of the movie, music and sports worlds on edge. In an interview with Paul Mescal, for example, she jokingly accused him of stalking her on red carpets before finally coming on a Chicken Shop Date, and he admitted that he was “very nervous” to be sitting in front of her.

Her first so-called date was posted in 2014, and she has since shared quasi-romantic moments with Andrew Garfield, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lawrence, Bella Hadid, Paul McCartney, Idris Elba and Elmo (because why not?). She has even set the stage for romantic moments for others: In a 2023 interview with Dimoldenberg, Sean Evans, the host of “Hot Ones,” admitted to having a crush on one of his frequent guests, actor Keke Palmer.

That then led to Evans and Palmer’s sharing a kiss in a 2025 episode of “Hot Ones” and fueling rumors that the two were dating.

“Chicken Shop Date” is among a slew of digital-first, creator-led shows that have become such powerful cultural tent poles that they are now folded into a celebrity’s overall promotional press circuit that once included only radio, television and magazine interviews.

Eventually, Dimoldenberg took her interview style beyond the literal chicken shop, working the red carpet at the Oscars, the MTV Video Music Awards and the Brit Awards.

Over the past few years she has expanded her skill set to include writing screenplays that have been picked up by the BBC and an independent production company, including a drama about teenagers inspired by “Skins,” the popular British television classic.

“I feel like it’s now time to move on from this adventure and onto a new one,” Dimoldenberg wrote on Instagram.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta/Charlotte Hadden
c. 2026 The New York Times Company