I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! is set for a grand return today, and internet sensation GK Barry, better known to her fans as Grace Keeling, is prepared to join the jungle fray with an array of celebrities.
ITV’s popular reality show comes back on the air this evening (November 17), with a glamorous cast that includes WAG Coleen Rooney, chart-topper Tulisa, and television regulars Oti Mabuse, Alan Halsall, and Jane Moore.
Grace, despite her distaste for the outdoors, has candidly expressed her aversion to bugs and outside sleeping, which could prove entertaining for viewers. “I hate bugs. I hate sleeping outside. I’ve never done it. And so I think that would be a lot. But I feel like it would also probably be good viewing for other people,” she told the Mirror.
The 25-year-old may have an advantage over her fellow campers though, having spent much of her early life in the lush environs of the British Virgin Islands and holidaying in Trinidad and Tobago, reports OK!.
Grace grew up under the care of her mother Loretta and stepfather Andrew just a short distance from the sandy shores after moving to the Virgin Islands at the age of two.
Amusing tales from her past were divulged during a 2022 instalment of her Saving Grace podcast, where her parents reminisced about their island adventures.
Loretta recounted witnessing an unusual sight in the ocean whilst in the kitchen one day, prompting her to send Andrew to investigate. The result was the unexpected rescue of a floundering goat, which they consequently brought ashore.
The tale of Grace’s family pet goat turned sombre when her parents disclosed that they passed on the beloved goat to a neighbour, yet GK contested this account, exclaiming during an interview: “This is where the story gets confused. You didn’t give the goat to our neighbour, we woke up one morning and said ‘Where’s the goat? ‘ and you said ‘Do you smell that? That’s the goat, they made it into a goat curry.”
Her parents then admitted they had merely hoped the neighbours would care for the goat, not consume it.
In a lighter anecdote from the family’s past, they discussed how their dog was heroically saved from the sea by Andrew.
Further incidents were recounted as well, including an episode from a family vacation in Trinidad and Tobago. While on a walk to get coconuts, Grace and Andrew found themselves chased by a snake, leading Andrew to reveal on the podcast: “I was about to say [to Grace] ‘You don’t have to worry about them, as long as you’re not in their territory’ and then it [the snake] just took off after us.”
Although GK has been away from tropical forests for some time now, it appears that her early experiences may serve her well for future adventures in the jungle.
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! returns tonight at 9pm on ITV1 & ITVX