Rock Bottom to Reinvention: Turning Setbacks into Your Comeback
How moments that feel like failure often become the foundation for reinvention.
- Reframe setbacks
- Rebuild confidence after a difficult chapter
- Create momentum for change
Keynote speaker · 1ne Talent
Presenter, confidence & resilience speaker
Best known from more than 12 years on Channel 4's BAFTA-winning First Dates. Cici speaks on resilience, boundaries and reinvention, drawn from her own life and thousands of real first encounters.

Biography
Cici Coleman is a presenter, actress, and dating confidence coach, best known as the beloved waitress on Channel 4’s BAFTA award-winning series, First Dates, where she has spent over 12 years witnessing thousands of real first encounters unfold.
However, the woman behind the UK’s most famous waitress has led a life marked by resilience, reinvention, and radical self-honesty.
At 14, Cici faced a devastating loss that triggered several turbulent years of grief, risk-taking, and a quest for meaning. She made a bold and unconventional leap into banking at HSBC, working four jobs to fund her move to New York at 23, where she earned a full scholarship to the New York Film Academy and began pursuing her passion for acting.
What followed were dramatic highs and lows: life in New York, a toxic relationship, declining mental health, visa struggles, and ultimately moving back home to rebuild from scratch. She even worked as a builder with her father before returning to waitressing in London, serving some of her former banking clients.
Then came the opportunity that would change everything: First Dates. Over the next decade, Cici became a familiar and comforting presence on British television while quietly developing a profound understanding of human behavior, confidence, vulnerability, and emotional intelligence.
These insights, combined with her own personal journey, inspired her to create The Dating Reset: a series of women’s confidence workshops focused on self-worth, boundaries, and empowered decision-making. Cici's resilience workshops emphasize that rock bottom isn’t the end of the story; often, it’s simply the place where rebuilding begins.
Today, Cici speaks passionately about empowerment, resilience, and reinvention, showing audiences how emotional awareness, clear boundaries, and courageous decision-making can transform not only relationships but also leadership, careers, and the way we live our lives.
Talks
How moments that feel like failure often become the foundation for reinvention.
A recovering people-pleaser on why boundaries aren't about pushing people away.
A simple mindset shift for making courageous choices.
On stage


Ideal for
Questions
Cici's talks include Rock Bottom to Reinvention: Turning Setbacks into Your Comeback, Boundaries: The Skill That Upgrades Your Life and Career and The "Deathbed Thoughts" Principle: Making Braver Life Decisions. Every talk is tailored to your audience on a briefing call before the event.
Confidence workshops; brand collaborations; wellbeing weeks and health initiatives. Tell us about your audience and we will confirm the best fit.
Send your event brief to 1ne Talent Agency with your date, location, audience and budget. Dom replies within one working day to confirm Cici's availability and fee, then manages contracts, briefing calls and travel.
Similar speakers
Availability & fees
Share your date, audience and budget. Dom reads every brief personally and replies within one working day.