Grace Eleanor Keeling, better known as GK Barry, is preparing to take on the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here challenge. We take a look at how she became a star

Grace, 25, fronts a hit podcast and is a Loose Women panellist (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here has been packed with drama over the years and now campmate GK Barry has managed to cause a stir before setting foot in the jungle.

The social media star runs a hit podcast called Saving Grace, where she interviews big name celebrities including Coleen Nolan and Alan Carr.

But when she recently interviewed OnlyFans star Bonnie Blue, who notoriously toured UK universities in a bid to sleep with 100 students during Freshers Week, there was a mighty backlash. Bonnie, 25, talked about wanting to bed “barely legal” 18 and 19 year olds and many critics felt she shouldn’t have been given a platform to do so.

The episiode has since been deleted amid rumours ITV was in “crisis talks” about GK’s stint Down Under. But yesterday, she was seen arriving in Australia, telling reporters she’d miss the wine and the pubs back home.

As the influencer prepares to enter the jungle alongside Coleen Rooney and McFly star Danny Jones, we take a closer look at her career and controversies…

Some fans were not impressed by Bonnie Blue’s appearance on Saving Grace(Image: Saving Grace/Youtube)

GK Barry’s real name is Grace Eleanor Keeling and she rose to fame during the Covid-19 pandemic when she shared vlogs of her days during lockdown on TikTok and Instagram while studying at Nottingham Trent University. She intended on staying low key but within a year, she had reached the golden number of one million TikTok followers.

With her career soaring, Grace completed her degree in film studies and began a master’s in digital marketing. She worked on the set of BBC series Doctors and Netflix film Hood while at university and created content for the ShawMind charity, which promotes mental health awareness.

By 2022 the influencer had created Saving Grace, her much-loved podcast which invites celebrities and influencers to discuss life and share embarrassing stories. Alison Hammond, Rob Beckett and US star Madison Beer are among her interviewees.

But Bonnie Blue may be a step too far, as the sex worker’s episode sparked fury among some fans. “Her audience is 13-20 year old girls,” said one. “Young and impressionable. This is not the message young girls should be hearing,” another added.

Grace’s Loose Women insisted her quip about Frankie Bridge was taken in the right way(Image: ITV)

Another listened slammed the episode as “sickening”. “What was said is disturbing and has nowt to do with feminism. The glorification of [sex work] has put girls and young women in serious danger.”

Grace has faced controversy before – a regular on the Loose Women panel, her joke about loving Loose Women star Frankie Bridge’s band The Saturdays didn’t go down well. “I didn’t get any GSCEs at school but I thought: ‘That’s OK, I’ll be Frankie!’,” she said, to which the popstar, 35, responded: “That felt like a backhanded compliment!”

Grace later said the pair were “completely fine”, insisting: “I love The Saturdays so I would never fall out with Frankie Bridge.”

Today, the influencer has a whopping 4.5 million followers combined on social platforms – is it enough for her to become Queen of the Jungle? Time will tell.