‘Scariest thing I’ve done’–GK Barry needed liquid courage for ‘terrifying’ shoot (Image: Ann Summers) If you need a case study of how TikTok can propel someone from obscurity to viral fame seemingly overnight, look no further than GK Barry’s rise from student to small-screen stardom. Her hugely successful Saving Grace podcast followed her rapid ascent on TikTok, where she gained over one million followers just a year after starting her account. Now, she’s branching out even further. With appearances on Love Island: Aftersun and Loose Women, as well as rumours of a relationship with England football star Ella Rutherford, GK – whose real name is Grace Keeling – is proving she’s far more than just a fleeting TikTok trend. In fact, the 25-year-old has recently caught the attention of lingerie giant Ann Summers, which has unveiled her as the face of its 2024 Halloween campaign – a collaboration that GK admits pushed her out of her comfort zone. Here, we catch up with the star to talk about doing her weekly shop dressed as a goddess, needing some liquid courage to strip off on set, and the one thing she definitely won’t be sharing any time soon… We’ve seen the campaign snaps and you look great! How does it feel looking at them? I am so excited for the pictures to come out because this is so out of my comfort zone. You will always see me dressed in a baggy T-shirt and joggers. So, you know, this was terrifying, but after seeing the pictures, I’m so glad I did it.
GK says she needed some liquid courage to tackle the daring shoot
(Image: Ann Summers)
The social media sensation puts on a show-stopping display in the new Halloween collection
(Image: Ann Summers)
SHOP GK’S LOOK: Maid To Pleasure Outfit, £30 here, and, Reigning Sequin Body, £46 here. Was there an outfit from the range you didn’t want to take off? I would say the Goddess one. Yeah, that slaps. And also the nurse one, I got really into character with that. I think they designed that fallen angel-looking (Goddess) one specifically for me, I really felt at home in that costume. How did it feel getting undressed for the shoot? Luckily everyone on the set was so lovely. Even the girls that I was modelling with were really nice. But I said to them, ‘Look, I don’t know if this is unprofessional, but I do need to have a bottle of Prosecco’, and I did. There was a lovely man there as well who was like choreographing it and he was doing what I was doing with me. So I didn’t feel as weird as it would have to do it alone. You’re not shy about asking celebs questions on your podcast – what do you find daunting? A lot of my humour is very self-deprecating, so I enjoy taking the mick out of myself or, you know, like poking fun at things. So to be in a serious situation, and taking the majority of my clothes off being arguably one up from bungee jumping as the scariest thing I’ve ever done, was so out of my comfort zone. It kind of made me appreciate sitting on a couch, fully clothed, asking others questions. Any funny Halloween memories you can share with us? Last Halloween, my friend Joe Baggs dressed up as me and people actually thought it was me, even though I was also standing right there next to him. So that was comical. This year I might have to go dressed up as him, but in some 6-inch heels for the height. Any plans to go out? I’ve never done trick or treating in my life, what with protective parents. But I mean the going go and the having fun and partying aspect, one hundred per cent. Although, I don’t really like going out as much now. But if it’s like a one-off that there’s an excuse to get really dressed up, I’m absolutely on it.
GK says she’ll be wearing some of the Ann Summers collection out on her weekly Tesco shop
(Image: Ann Summers)
SHOP GK’S LOOK: Reigning Sequin Body, £46 here. Surely you’ll be wearing your Ann Summers looks this year? Absolutely. If you think I won’t be wearing that Goddess outfit to Tesco to do the weekly shop and then everywhere, not even just on Halloween, you’re wrong. You’re only 25 but you’ve checked off some major career moments. Have you got anything else on your bucket list? I’d love to do more TV shows and continue with Loose Women. I loved doing that. And also maybe some more tours for my Saving Grace podcast. At some point, I want to take it to Australia, which has my second biggest following base. You’re very candid – is there anything you won’t ever share online? I like to mostly keep my relationship private. It’s not going very well, but a bit more private than I have done before. I am just an open book, so I don’t even want to say what I’ve got to keep private because next week I’ll probably be sharing it online. So is there anything that would come up on the Say it or Shot it podcast segment for you that you would just wouldn’t say? Maybe things to do with past relationships or whatever, just out of respect. Other than that, no, I would absolutely say everything, which is really annoying for my PR team. You can shop GK Barry x Ann Summers’ Halloween collection online and in stores now with prices starting from £8.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnLoose WomenLove IslandShoppingFashionGK Barry
