Clara Amfo has established herself as one of the most influential tastemakers in the British music industry, having hosted Radio 1’s “Live Lounge” for six years and now hosting “Future Sounds”. But it’s her positive outlook, sunny, radiant energy, and ability to deeply connect with people, whether in an interview or across thousands of miles of airwaves, that made her a lifeline for listeners during the most isolating months of the pandemic. It’s what makes her podcast, “This City” so brilliant, as she gathers the stories that make up London, and it’s what rendered her unanimously adored when she appeared on “Strictly Come Dancing” last year. Her love of people, stories, music, and London, is contagious. In recognition of this, Ted Baker has chosen Amfo to present and interview the artists in its AW21 Street Party - a campaign dedicated to championing the British creative storytellers who continued to inspire the country throughout COVID.
“We live in a really challenging world, and I am fiercely dedicated to protecting and seeking my joy, in resistance to that. That’s not to say I avert my eyes to what's wrong in the world, just so I can spend the day shopping, or so I can do my make-up. I’m just fiercely protective of finding whatever I can, whether it's going out dancing or watching something dumb, like wasting three hours on TikTok laughing at people. There’s never a day where I don't laugh from the bottom of my stomach, like the pit of it.”
This drive towards joy, curiosity, and enthusiasm underpins Amfo’s work, whether it be on the radio, her podcast, TV, or even in the new book that she’s writing. Wearing Ted Baker on our AW21 cover, the presenter sat down with Rollacoaster to talk about what drives her to connect with people, how she found the confidence to step into her power and stop shrinking herself, and why she’ll never get bored of London
