Fresh from the I’m A Celeb jungle, Grace Keeling – better known to her four million TikTok followers as GK Barry – popped out for some pie and mash, and suddenly realised everyone in the shop knew her name. “It used to just be younger people who had listened to the pod, but suddenly their mums and nans knew who I was too! I felt like Britney Spears,” she tells me. It’s a far cry from the days when she was just starting out on social media, during the COVID-19 pandemic while studying film at Nottingham Trent University. Keeling has since built a huge online presence, launched a hit podcast which she took on a sold-out nationwide tour, and become a familiar face on prime-time TV.

“It might shock most people to know that I grew up really shy,” she confesses. But university gave her the confidence boost she needed. “Suddenly I was out all the time, having fun and living my best life – and I realised I could look after myself, which helped my confidence massively.” She goes on, “I also realised that people found me funny, so that was huge for where I am today in my career. Uni gave me lots of stories to talk about on TikTok too, which people seemed to really resonate with!” This confidence didn’t come easily, and she still has doubts in spite of her successes. “I often walk into a room and think ‘how the hell am I here?! ’, but fake it ’til you make it and no one else will realise you’re having those doubts.”

“I think sometimes people forget we [influencers] do have feelings… but I’m really lucky to get a lot more love than hate”

This tactic has propelled Grace far beyond TikTok – in the past two years she has branched out from social media to television, appearing on well-loved shows such as I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and The Last Leg, as well as the upcoming Celebrity Sabotage and Am I the A**hole?. “I’ve been really fortunate because it’s traditionally not easy to move between television and social media,” Grace acknowledges, “but I’ve got a really brilliant team around me who took that initial chance and believed in me. I owe them for a lot of the opportunities I’ve had to be on TV.” Of course, this sudden rise to fame hasn’t always been straightforward. Grace admits that online hate is sometimes a downside of this newfound popularity: “I think sometimes people forget we [influencers] do have feelings… but I’m really lucky to get a lot more love than hate,” she reassures me.

It’s true that, in addition to her younger fans, GK Barry is a fond favourite of mums and nans across the country. Her ability to bridge generations is part of what’s made her such a stand-out on TV. She is the youngest ever regular panellist in Loose Women’s 25-year history, and she also struck up an unlikely “bromance” with the Reverend Richard Coles on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! “I think intergenerational friendships are important,” she says. “Older friends have lived life. They’ve made their mistakes and learned what’s important, and they can see things you sometimes can’t, so that’s great – then I can show people like the Rev a Gen Z point of view!”

Building on her already impressive portfolio, I ask GK what her ambitions are for the future. “I’m open to trying more acting,” she shares (having made her acting debut in January as Vanessa in Netflix’s Missing You). “It’s so different from what I usually do, which is all unscripted.” Grace has joked before that in the next five years she’ll hopefully be “rich, married, and doing more telly stuff”. While she admits this comment was, of course, a joke, there are elements of it that still ring true for the social media star: “I love doing the telly stuff and knowing I’m entertaining people and making them laugh.” The dream? Her own comedy show, she says, “like the female version of Alan Carr”. She also has future ambitions for her relationship: “I’ve got an amazing girlfriend and we have two dogs together, so marriage is definitely on the bucket list down the line.”

Since the WSL season is about to start, when Grace mentions her girlfriend – Portsmouth footballer Ella Rutherford – I can’t help but ask if she has any tips for any women’s football fans trying to find the girlfriend of their dreams. She laughs, “aspiring WAGs [… ] be yourself, be funny, and always get one of those mini bottles of prosecco when watching a game!”

Grace is currently embarking on her ′Jungle Fever’ tour, the final stop being her hometown of Cambridge. “It feels great,” she answers, when asked how it feels to be returning for a hometown gig. “We’ve made [Cambridge] the final stop on the tour as we know the crowd will be amazing.” She’s clearly determined to make it a night to remember. “I’m expecting wild things, you’d better be ready!” But how does she want her audience to prepare? “I want them there early, having a pre-drink and sipping on some prosecco with their friends,” Grace says. “Then when the show is on, I want to see loads of audience participation and the people of Cambridge bringing all the energy for the best night of our lives.”

At the end of each of her podcasts, GK asks her guest what advice they would give her to ‘save Grace’. I ask her to return the favour and offer some advice to her Cambridge audience: “Be yourself, don’t take life too seriously, and if you don’t nail your [exams] don’t worry – I did terribly with all of my education but have done alright for myself! Also, go home by midnight if you’re at Revs, nothing good happens after then.”

GK Barry’s Jungle Fever Tour is coming to 16 cities across the UK from 29th August to 26th September 2025, including Derby, Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, York, Southend, and more. Tickets available now: https://www.tegeurope.com/events/saving-grace.