GK Barry is among the favourites to be crowned champion
I’m A Celebrity kicks off tonight, and a new group of campmates have headed down under to take part in the challenging ITV show. Fans will watch as the famous faces take on three weeks of camp life.
The full line-up for this year’s show includes many household names such as Coleen Rooney, McFly’s Danny Jones, former Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse and Coronation Street star Alan Halsall. Other names may be less known by a wider audience and that includes TikTok star GK Barry.
The bookmakers have the TikTok star among the favourites to be crowned queen of the jungle. Oddschecker who are leading price comparison site, have GK Barry priced at 6/1, the second favourite behind Danny Jones.
But who is GK Barry? Here is everything you need to know about the internet personality ahead of her stint in the jungle. From her real name to England footballer girlfriend and how she rose to prominence.
Who is GK Barry?
Known as GK Barry, Grace Eleanor Keeling is an English internet personality, social media influencer and presenter. The 25-year-old was born in Cambridge but has also lived in the British Virgin Islands after moving there at the age of two. She returned to the UK aged eight and has lived in Nottingham.
GK Barry studied film at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), gaining a master’s in digital marketing. During her time at University, Grace worked on the soap opera Doctors.
It was the Coronavirus pandemic that led to GK Barry to become an internet sensation. Throughout 2020 she posted lifestyle videos on TikTok alongside comedy clips and she soon surpassed 1 million followers.
What does GK Barry do?
While GK Barry has amassed a staggering 3.6M followers on TikTok, she does a lot more than posting videos to the platform. The social media app was just the start for the 25-year-old.
Launching her own podcast in April 2022, GK Barry has been able to reach wide audiences. The Saving Grace podcast is also uploaded to YouTube as a vodcast. The popularity of the podcast led to GK Barry touring it around the UK in February 2022. The star hosted sell out shows from February to March 2024 when touring the podcast for a second time.
A number of celebrities have appeared on The Saving Grace podcast including Gemma Collins, Chris Hughes, Katie Price and Louie Spence. Since August 2024, GK Barry has made a series of appearances as a guest panellist on the ITV daytime talk show Loose Women and made history by becoming the youngest ever panellist on the show.
In an interview with PWR magazine, GK Barry opened up about what it is like being in the spotlight as a TikTok star. She said: “I’d say I’ve broken through the stereotypes of girls can’t be as funny as boys, or that to get big you have to be really fit with loads of work done.
“And also just me as a TikToker, that’s a bit niche. I remember when I started, people would never take TikTok too seriously. I was the first one to start a podcast that was successful. And now I’m being invited on TV. So I feel like whatever you want to do, it’s possible.”
Who is GK Barry’s footballer girlfriend?
Currently, GK Barry is in a relationship with England striker, Ella Rutherford. Rutherford has featured six times for Ipswich this season after undergoing a knee operation. When talking about how the pair got together, GK Barry said on her Saving Grace podcast: “I saw her Instagram and I thought hello, I followed her and she followed me. She messaged me and we’ve never moved out.”
She added “literally five seconds in I was like ‘is it too early to say I love you’ probably. So I had to wait about four weeks.”
Prior to jetting off to Australia GK Barry left a life-sized cardboard cut-out with her girlfriend. The pair recently jetted off on holiday together. Ella shared photos on social media of the pair enjoying some quality time together. In one photo, GK Barry was sporting a pink t-shirt embellished with: “I love my girlfriend”.
