GK BARRY has revealed exactly how I’m A Celebrity bosses convinced her to sign up for this year’s series.
The podcast host and Loose Women star – whose real name is Grace – has opened up on the phone call from ITV that made her agree to the show.
She admitted previously TV producers had been unwillingly to feature her on the shows because she was an influencer.
Grace, 25, said: “Mickey from ITV gave me a call. So, I’m like, what could this be?
“She’s like, listen, this is the nicest cast we’ve ever had. She basically told me all the bad things and all the good things.
“She was really open with it. I thought, fine, I can do this. And then also, one thing about me is I’m always in denial before something.
Appearing on Great Company with Jamie Laing, she continued: “So, I said yes to it.
“But in my head, I was like, it’s not going to happen. Then it got to the week before, and I was Googling worse, bush tucker trials to make myself feel worse.
“And then I was on the plane, and I thought, I can’t even say
no, because my manager’s book sell flight out here. In the lockdown I was struggling with not having my phone, and wondering what are people saying about me?”
During GK’s jungle experience viewers watched her form a friendship with Reverend Richard Coles.
The star also revealed how The Sun’s Jane Moore provided support to her in camp when she hit a low point.
Meanwhile, GK and Ella Rutherford dropped the biggest hint yet that they’ve secretly married.
Ella met Grace at the end of the bridge after a month apart when she narrowly missed out on a place in the final.
Sharing unseen photos of the pair together in Australia, Ella captioned her post: “Flew to the jungle to get my wife.
“Met the most amazing people along the way and made memories that will last a life time.
“You made us all so proud beautiful, I love you with all my heart, I have everything I’ll ever need.”
Who is GK Barry?
GK Barry amassed more than a million followers on TikTok in just over a year during the first UK lockdown in 2020.
Grace Keeling, better known as GK Barry, is a 25-year-old social media influencer.
She rose to fame during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, creating a TikTok account and posting short vlogs showcasing her day-to-day life.
Although she originally intended on staying low-key, she gained a large following in no time at all.
By August 2020, only five months after starting her account, she had already hit 100,000 followers, reaching more than a million in just over a year.
She now has over 4.5million followers across her social media platforms.
After completing a degree in film studies from Nottingham Trent University, Grace furthered her education with a master’s in digital marketing.
While at Nottingham Trent, she worked on the set of BBC series Doctors and the Netflix film Hood, as well as creating content for ShawMind — a charity working to promote mental health awareness.
Grace is known for her podcast, named The Saving Grace Podcast.
On the show she invites celebrities and influencers to have a chat about life and the latest trends, as well as any embarrassing stories from their past.
In May 2024, Grace said she was dating a female footballer.
Then in June it came out that the soccer star in question plays for England.
The Sun revealed that Grace and Charlton Athletic striker Ella Rutherford, 24, are getting serious — they’ve met each other’s family and holidayed together.
A source exclusively told The Sun: “GK has been seeing Ella for a while but they are very much official now.
“They grew even closer on holiday in Benidorm and GK has met all her family.
“She’s really happy and they are having so much fun together.”
