GK BARRY: I'M IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME

0:28Hey, it's Adam Grant from WorkLife, a podcast from TED. software, you'll work smarter, not harder. Freshworks uncomplicates. Learn more at Freshworks.com.

1:00Go to Upwork.com now and find your freelance expert. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Post a job for free and get started today. Hi, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the Popcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about. Because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches. Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction. And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams.

1:33Check out zen.com slash find to find zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. At Capella University, we believe accessible education can make a difference. That's why we offer scholarship opportunities to all eligible students. Un futuro diferente está más cerca de lo que crees con Capella University. Learn more at capella.edu.

2:03Hello everyone, my name is Jamie Lane and this is Great Company.

2:12Well, this is an exciting episode. It is going to be an exciting episode. Hello. Well, hello, because firstly, producer Jemima over here. Now, if you're new to the show, I'm your host, Jamie, and this is producer Jemima. Yeah, and she has turned up and you think you're pretty sexy today, I think. I've not That's not come out of my mouth But I do have Quite a husky little voice Which I'm enjoying Why do you have a husky voice? I caroled hard I caroled hard last night What does that even mean? It's Christmas What does that mean? We did Went to some bars And there was a trumpet And we sang Our little hearts out To some Christmas carols Hang on So you know Oh come let us adore him Oh come let us adore him Oh come That's why I went hard Okay Real hard.

2:57And you were front, centre, back. Where were you? All three. Oh, you mixed it up. At the same time. Okay, that's pretty good. Also, we've got to say, this is a very exciting episode. And we're recording this on a Saturday. It's Saturday. It's Saturday. And the whole team is here. And they are excited because of our guests, but also a little bit annoyed that we're recording on a Saturday because it's really their only day off. Jamie makes us work Sundays. Yeah, it's our only day off. Yeah, the only day off. Yeah. Yeah, but it's exciting every once in a while and we will get a little bit of, if anyone's concerned, we will get Lou time.

3:31That is true. Today's guest is really exciting. If you haven't watched TikTok or on social media and you didn't watch I'm a Celebrity, you may not know who this guest is. But if you are on social media and you did watch The Jungle, you'll know exactly who GK Barry is. Grace, who is a good friend of mine. She was on The Jungle. She's an incredible talent. She's amazing. She really is. And she's so much fun. Yeah. She's one of these sort of talent that has broken through sort of that social media place. And what's interesting about that, right, is that there's this sort of weird hierarchy that goes on in television, movies, social media.

4:06And what happens is, is that if you do television, that means you can't really do film, supposedly. It's very strange, but film can do television. It's very weird. Oh, like, okay, I get what you mean. This is like the RK rule. And then what happens with TV, if you do TV, you can do social media, but social media can't do TV. Because there are these gatekeepers who are deciding this. Oh, that's so interesting. Yeah, so I guess Grace is quite like a remarkable talent because she came up on TikTok. She's just been on the jungle. She's one of the loose women. And her podcast is huge. Is humongous.

4:38She is one of the first TikTokers to ever go into the jungle and she absolutely smashed it. And what's amazing about that is I truly believe that this sort of idea that social media talent can't do television and television can't really do social media is total nonsense. And actually everyone, if you're talented, Talent shines through at the end, 100%. Grace is coming on. I'm really excited. We're also going to play a fun game with her. We are. So Jamie, just five minutes ago, was like, let's play a game. So we've come up with a little quickfire game. Why is it that you want to do a quickfire game?

5:10Because I think Grace is a really great person at reacting. So I want to give her quickfire questions, see how she reacts to it. Okay, nice. We were just coming up with some questions with the team. And we were all just like, no. to each other's ideas. Yeah, everyone just, no one wanted to say an idea because everyone was poo-pooing it. We whittled it down to 10. Also, I've never said poo-pooing in my entire life. What was that? Poo-poo. Do you know what else you said earlier? Holy smokes. Yeah, I say that sometimes. I like that. I'm going to put that in my vocabulary. And also, another one I like, holy macaroni.

5:43Okay, are you ready for this episode today? I'm very ready. Now, if you like the episode, let us know what you think. We want to hear from you guys. We absolutely adore it. You can send us an email, greatcompany at jampotproductions.co.uk or you can sign into our DMs at greatcompanypodcast on Instagram. We read all of them. We see all of them. We love all of them. So please let us know what you think of the show. And if you haven't subscribed to us already, please do because it makes a world of difference. Okay, you ready for this? I'm very ready. Here we go. Please enjoy this episode. Sorry, that's your line.

6:11Yeah, you can say here we go. Here we go. Please enjoy this episode of Great Company with GK Barry. Hi, I'm Grace and I am great company. I have a little quickfire game I wanted to play with you. Go on, love that. Here we go. Best DM slide. From me? From both actually. You sending someone and one coming back. The DM for me was probably my girlfriend messaging me for the first time. That really works. I never respond to DMs. for me I remember oh I don't know I just message everyone like Beyonce asking them to come on my pod and thinking they're gonna reply I sent one to Billie Eilish the other day I was like hey babe like if you're ever in London just let me know I would love to get you on the pod and I was like she's gonna reply she didn't what's your reoccurring nightmare oh I always have one that I'm back I'm doing a talk at my school and I've got no teeth and everyone's like gummy, gummy and that's my, I always have that nightmare I know what you mean it means you're worried about money apparently with no teeth is it?

7:21yeah that's when you start times were tough the moment when you were like ew to men this is really TMI but after sleeping with my girlfriend imagining a man's being on top of me made me physically want to die is it really just different yeah are you serious i promise you sorry to break that to you hopefully sophie never has this realization when i get i have this time when i got on if i get on top of so she goes oh i'll get on with it wow that was me i'd always go fuck i might as well get this over and done with so it keeps them quiet for five minutes that was my life for a bit who's your best friend best friend oh i've got three best friends that But all the same, like in the same group, I'd say my manager, my girlfriend and Tat, where the Barry came from.

8:10But Tat's my longest best friend. So she wins. What is a best friend to you? What does that mean? Someone that will humble you, always be there for you, will not judge you and loves to drink. What club are you taking Reverend Coles to? I'm thinking maybe Freedom in Soho. I could see him on the park. Worst hangover you've ever had? Dear God, I remember Harry Pinero. I remember it so well. Harry Pinero had a, like, it was a Captain Morgan party. I don't know what it was, but he had a party. It was sponsored by Captain Morgan's. I'm not really a rum drinker. And I was like, fuck it, I'll have some Spice Rum.

8:50I had so much Spice Rum that the next day I got alcohol poisoning. I was throwing up everywhere. And I just moved into my house. so there was no furniture and I was laid on the carpet shivering because I couldn't work out how to turn the heating on. And it lasted about 14 hours. And I said to myself I'd go sober and I had to then drink more to stop it. And I just haven't stopped. Would you like to know how you die or when you die? Oh, I'd love to know how I die. How would you do it? Best case scenario, it's a really dramatic, very camp way. Like I was walking out of freedom, got hit by a bus or something like that.

9:31I'd love something a bit dramatic, would hate to die in my sleep. I don't know, something that would make the news. If you could be a boy for a day, what would you do? Wank. I would, I would actually, this is what I'd do. I would wank all day long. I would chat up a girl just to see what it's like from a man point of view. I'd then probably try putting a finger up my bum because I've heard you've got a G-spot so I'd like to know what that's like and I'd also just like to maybe get into a fight and that's it really

10:11You said that you were quite shy you were quite anxious maybe when you were younger Yeah I don't know what happened to that I think it was the GK Barry thing because I was like if I walk into a room I can just pretend to be who I am online. And then that sort of helped. And then it just started becoming me anyway. But in normal day-to-day life, which I think people saw in the jungle, was that I'm not always on it. I am quite quiet, not when I'm doing trials, but I am quite quiet and I am quite reserved. But now I feel a little bit more like me and not GK Barry. It's weird. I've done like a flip and then another flip.

10:48so so gk barry with you is like your alter ego in a way yeah really like if i'm if i'm going to an event and i know people in there will know me as gk barry i'll go in so confident i'll have a wine in my hand i'll be loud i'll be talking to everyone but if i'm doing something as me i will sneak into that room still get the wine but i won't be like that it's weird it's not weird it's a protective mechanism yeah yeah is that that is so interesting so when was the first time that you created the character then in a sense it is you but it's sort of this heightened version of yourself i don't even know how i thought about doing it i just remember posting tick up i think it was because lockdown yeah so i was like listen no one's gonna see me we're probably all gonna die so i was just not asked about what i was posting and then i remember thinking if i put on a really strong accent the story sounds funnier so I was doing that and I was being really like outrageous with all my stuff because the views were coming from when I'd talk about my most outrageous story so I was like right and then it just sort of stuck and I was like well I've got to carry on with this now even after lockdown so I was like I'm stuck in this now I have to talk like this for the rest of my life like I'd be having a conversation with my manager talking like this and then a follower would come up to me and I'd be like, wow, you did it.

12:12It was just so embarrassing to do. I don't know what happened. The lines were blurred. Yeah. Psychologically, what does that do? I feel like I had an identity crisis because I was like, who am I? Am I sounding like an East London cab driver or am I actually posh? I don't know who I am. Am I actually funny? I don't know. And then I was having, I'm just me now. I get that and I have a I can sometimes be over the top when I need to be and really funny when I need to be but it is just a front Yeah you're more comfortable in that space right? Yeah 100 % I had that so when I was doing Made in Chelsea I remember the first ever scene that was aired or whatever social media was like Twitter or X at the time Oh my god it was horrendous I would like I would do the scene and then I would see the scene on TV and I would then go straight away to social media because you wanted to see what people were saying, right?

13:12And they would say things like, oh, he's funny or he's energetic or whatever it was. So then I latched onto that. And I went, well, I've got to be energetic and funny in every single scene. And then what happened was is sort of I became this volumed up version of myself. It's still me. I think I was very much exactly the same person as on the show. It's just more. More. And then because we were filming 160 days a year, I couldn't separate the TV show from my real life. And I've said this before, but I went with a friend for a drink and I was chatting to him and he said to me, we're not on channel four at the moment.

13:47Oh. And I went, what the fuck? I was like, you don't even realize you're doing it. I didn't even realize I was doing it. And I had become like this, isn't that crazy? Yeah, it's bizarre. I don't know why we do it. And also I think when you have a platform and you can read stuff about yourself, it will then alter. so if I've been on Loose Women I'll be like right let me go on Twitter and if people are like she was trying too hard today I'll be like I was trying too hard today even though I didn't think I was until I read it it's I don't know weird I don't know why I do it I thought I was pretty good at dealing with the internet the same as you and then what happened last year is we did a collaboration with Netflix Sex Education yeah it was great for sweets and sex education together and we put the suites out there and people didn't really understand the collaboration.

14:39And so what happened was, is they thought that I was selling sex to kids. I can see why that would be a problem. The online sudden explosion of people thinking I was a paedophile. Sorry. Was absolutely, where the office got phoned up and people would just phone up and shout, paedophile, lie down the line. that is the worst type of confusion as well that it couldn't be worse and i was just like fuck like i'm gonna be that guy yeah do you remember that guy who was like on like that main in chelsea he's he's a beautiful now yeah he's a creepy sweet company and he was like a pedophile that's what it was i was like going through this thing it was awful it was it was awful my god yeah and it was like it was yeah i won't complain again social media is this place which is um it's so quick and so instant that when you're very in the thick of it and you suddenly get turned on you then catastrophize and you're like well this is it problem is is in this industry it's based on your personalities and things like that and so that's quite tricky because there's a lot of pressure on yourself you're not selling a product you're selling yourself yeah grace you're the you're the nicest greatest person thank you but you truly are you are beyond kind you're beyond funny you're beyond great and you've got to know you're amazing no you truly are great and like that's why we have the whole team here today because everyone was so excited to to that you were coming in come on thanks yeah i just want you to know that when you were younger what at school what were you like i was such a nerd i was so weird but not nerd as in like a smart nerd so I was actually just weird.

16:22Like I was so unfunny, try hard, weird looking, like there was just nothing good there going on. And no offense to emo, I was an emo, but it didn't suit me. It didn't suit me at all. So there was a lot going on there that shouldn't have been going on. I think some people are listening, right? A hundred percent who maybe they feel like out of place or maybe like a misfit or they don't quite fit in. and maybe they're having a tough time at school as well. What would you say to someone who's listening? You can back this. The funniest, most successful people in our industry or in most big industries, the most successful ones are the ones that had a shit time at school or that every comedian I've met had an awful time at school because of the way they looked or they were a bit weird.

17:12And when you look at them now, people want to be them. They have like the dream job. so I think and school's not the be all and end all I feel like when I was at school I was like this is I have to you know be liked and otherwise my life is over when you leave school like when I went to uni I just clocked how much none of that mattered doesn't matter it does even if you're having a bad time at uni that doesn't matter either because when you leave that you have a whole life and whole new friends and whole you can move to wherever you want to move to you can move away And that is one thing I'd suggest.

17:45If you are having a tough time at school or like college, if you were able to move out of that area to a uni or say, it can be a shit uni. Do you know what I mean? It can be like, I don't know, you don't need GCSEs to get into. Just go to anywhere and move out because you will have a whole new sense of life. And that is what I would say. We had Luke Evans on and he was really bullied as well. And, you know, he's down on 36 or 46 Hollywood movies. and he said, but his thing was, he always knew that school was temporary. And I don't think a lot of people realize that. They think it's the be all and end all.

18:20That's what I thought. 100%. I was like, I'm going to die here. This will never end. And now I, like the people that I would obsess over the most, trying to want them to like me, I do not even think about now. On the odd occasion, when I'm drunk at Christmas, seeing my friends from school, I will have a stalk of their Facebooks and a laugh. but you don't think about them they're that irrelevant to you yeah which i think is important to remember did you enjoy school at all no that was absolute hell i hope it burns to the ground it was with no one in it obviously it was awful awful i think and as well when i went to school it was the time where social media was just coming in so i would get like nasty comments at school and then i'd go home to twitter and someone would have tweeted an ugly picture of a fish and said it looked like me, I'd be like, this doesn't end.

19:11And the teeth, the fish had buck teeth, which is why it hurt more. Great. Thank you, Jay. Because that's just, yeah, because I suppose you were, you have a great family. Yeah. And that is so, like, I see your family and I just think they are the best. And the fact that you have that family as your support system, some kids don't have that. And so they're stuck in this, like, hellhole of shit. Yeah, because I can imagine how awful it is getting stuff at school, but then coming home and having bad stuff. But again, I feel like if you ever get a chance to just move away, take that opportunity, especially if you're having an awful time at home, because there is more to life, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time.

19:55Did you tell your parents you're having a hard time at school? Yeah, every day I'd be like, they said that I was ugly. And my mum would be like, please, when will this end? But there's nothing really you can do. No school deals with bullying at all. And if they do, it's usually, oh, we've moved her seat. She's still in the same class, but she's like four seats away from them now. Thanks. um so there's it's it's difficult but there's it was helpful having my friends and my family on my side because when I went home I was like I'm away from it now which was nice but didn't you go you moved to the British Virgin Islands yeah and then you moved back six years later yeah and it was that complicated because then you're joining a new school at different times yeah it was I said I had a Caribbean accent when I moved to the UK which arguably again was weird.

20:48I was like M.R. There was a lot. You didn't. Yeah, and I had cornrows. You didn't. Which would never run now, but it did back in the day. And I just turned up to this primary school with cornrows and a Caribbean accent. And I was just like, this is too much. But I didn't know it was weird because that's all I knew. So I like fit it into my surroundings then. But it was, yeah and I moved to a primary school which was a Christian school of about 50 people all of them were like jockeys like jockey family very countryside there was a lot and that was difficult yeah when you went to uni did that all change 100 when I went to uni I remember it was like slow-mo the whole thing I was like oh my god I could just I could shag right here and who's gonna tell me to not do it probably my flatmates but that doesn't matter because fuck them do you know I mean I could do what I wanted and I could I don't know I just felt like oh my god I can do what I want and I can be me and I was making loads of friends I wasn't really doing much on my course but I was making loads of friends.

21:58Had the emo look gone? To be honest, I went more big hoop earrings, ripped jeans. There we go. Yeah, I should have got bullied again, but I didn't, thank God. But yeah, I just felt like, and there were so many different types of people at uni that no one actually cared what you looked like or what you were doing. So everyone just sort of embraced it. So that was really nice. And I remember the first time my parents dropped me off, I hysterically cried. This is in Nottingham, right? Yeah, Nottingham. Nottingham, Trank, come on. And they dropped me off and they came back to visit me about three months later.

22:29And they said they were shocked. I was so confident. I was a completely different person. And they said they'd never seen anything like it. Because when they dropped me off, I cried because I was scared to get on a tram. And it was one stop. And I cried. What do you think it was that changed it? You felt that free. I know what you mean. I remember when I left school and I was going to uni. And I remember thinking, the only thing I have to worry about is like dying. I don't have to worry about anything. And for me, that was a big risk. I could go to a drive-thru. No one's going to stop me. I can do anything I want.

23:03It was the freedom and just being like, you've got to fend for yourself, learn how to do it. And I thought, right, well, I'm someone that I will only do stuff if I'm forced. When I did it, I was like, oh, I can fend for myself. And then I got this confidence. I can cook my own dinner. I mean, I don't have to be babied. And I think that's where it happened. I felt just like proud that I was doing my own thing. What was that moment? Was there one moment you said like, I'm free. I can do anything. This is the freest thing ever. I remember so vividly. I was in prison in Nottingham. Nightclub. Nightclub, of course.

23:36And I was like, do you know what? I'm going to spend all my money on Jagerbombs. And I did it. And then I was like, and I'm going to walk home on my own, which I wouldn't recommend. And I walked home on my own. And I remember getting back to my student accommodation like, too fucking right. I did do that. And I went to sleep with a kebab and thought, this is like the best day of my life. And that's how I knew. I thought, if I did that at my hometown, oh my God, no way. Were you babied by your parents or no? Oh my God, yeah. A hundred percent. I wouldn't say I was like, no, I was spoiled. I think because my siblings are so much older and they don't live with us, I was like the final boss.

24:15So they were like, you know, don't worry, Grace. Like, if you need help, we'll help you. Like, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to do it. obviously I was forced into like working at a young age but sorry what have you been working at a young age in a factory no just like when I turned 17 my parents were like you're not getting any money off us go and work so yeah I was up for the love of god so I had to go and work but more like if I was upset my mum would be like come here and I'd be watching strictly with her like crying my eyes out knowing I was about to get an ice cream but I was very much babied more by my mum.

24:51Did you have a relationship at uni? At the start of uni I did, but I sacked that off very quickly for obvious reasons. Got a leg over. You know the vibe. But no, having a relationship at uni, that wasn't going to work. Really? Yeah, for me. So for the whole years you had no relationship? No relationship. I was single for about four-ish years while I was at uni. I thought, this is a bargain. Love this. So you've never had your heart broken? Um, no, not really, actually. No, I mainly did the breaking up, which always felt quite good. How do you break up with someone? How would you do it? I'd be like, look, you know, it's not me, it is you.

25:34And I need to focus on myself. All of that. But I in that time, I'm very much someone that it takes me a long time to be done. Like you have to push me quite far to be done. But when I am done, that is it. So if we're going to role play it right now. Yeah. Okay, you're breaking up with me. Okay. All right. Hey, Grace. Jamie. Whoa. Sorry, that's okay. Yeah? What's up? Okay. I am going to be honest with you here. Okay. I love you, no? And that's embarrassing for you because I'm done now. I feel like you've made a fool of me. You've made a fool of yourself. I'm actually a lesbian, which is quite funny.

26:13I should probably tell you that now. And I just think this isn't working out. I think you deserve a woman that's a nine to five girl who wants a golden retriever. I don't want any of that. You do, and I know you do. You'll find out in five years. I see the future and you see that. I don't want that. And I don't mind the fact you're a lesbian. Okay. I don't care. Yeah. You can go out, but I'll wait at home for you. Okay. Well, now I've got the ick because I like someone with ambition. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to say goodbye and I would love for you to block me. No, I'm not going to do that.

26:42I'm going to block you. I love you. Yep. I love you. Okay. I love you. You are giving vagina energy right now. And that's what you'd like. You've charmed me. I'm back.

27:16Just the right expert, right when you need them. Work smarter and faster with Upwork. Go to Upwork.com now and find your freelance expert. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Post a job for free and get started today. Hi, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the Popcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about. Because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches. Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction.

27:49And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams. Check out zen.com slash find to find Zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. At Capella University, we believe accessible education can make a difference. That's why we offer scholarship opportunities to all eligible students. Un futuro diferente está más cerca de lo que crees con Capella University. Learn more at capella.edu.

28:25Is this the first one you've done since Out the Jungle? Yeah. So how do you feel being out now? Are you anxious? Are you not anxious? What is it? I was anxious. First couple of days when I came out, I was like, this is very overwhelming. I need to go live in a cave. But now I feel great. and I feel like I appreciate food and just England a lot more, to be honest. Like a daddy long legs I can fuck about with now. Am I allowed to swear? You can say whatever the fuck you want. Thank you, Jamie. Thank you. What was the experience like? The experience was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

29:00I thought, yeah, I'll keep myself entertained by starting fires and whatever. It is so boring in there. There's only so many conversations you can have. Before it's like, well, we've done that. I know everything about your life. The hunger is insane. I didn't expect to be that hungry. I thought maybe they'd give you a snack if you felt faint. They don't. It's just a lot. Our season, it was raining the entire time. So you had to just sit around the campfire all day, every day in the freezing cold. So it was, yeah, mentally a lot. I feel like I've been to a place, a dark place in my mind and back.

29:43Grace said before that you're not much of a hugger. No. And there's a lot of hugs that go on every day. There was an ongoing joke in there that everyone was like, do you want a hug? Because I am not an affectionate person. I, you know, I'll do a hug, but I'm not sat there like, well, I love this. and every day it was like 12 hugs four times a day and at one point I just said if I leave let's just group hug and be done with it because I don't have that in me there's I hate hugs now I've done it too much I've done my life's worth of hugs what is it about hugs that you don't like I just think sometimes people don't know how to stop hugging like it's gone on for too long I feel uncomfortable I feel very overstimulated I don't really know where to put my hands because I'm quite tall as well.

30:28So I feel weird going on top, which is uncommon for me, but I feel weird going on top or at the bottom. And you just, I don't know. I just think it's over the top. I think we just hugged outside. Yeah, but that was nice. I quite enjoyed that. You went over the top with me, I think as well. Yeah. Yeah. Again, it's the height thing for me. I felt very dominated when you did that. A lot of people say that. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a name in the streets. It was like one of those grasshoppers coming to eat their young. I get called that a lot, actually. It's the lankiness. Yeah, I am giving that. I was talking about this before, Grace.

31:07Because we've known each other for a few years now, in a weird way, I'm so proud. Thank you. Man, I swear to God, it's the coolest thing in the world. Because what I, and I was speaking to Jemima about this before, there's this weird thing in television, especially linear television, which is like okay you have to stay in your lane if you do digital content that's where you stay if you do TV that's where you stay if you do film that's where you stay and what you've done which I truly believe is when you've got a talented person talent should always shine through and you've done that crossover into linear TV against all like commissioners and people saying that can't happen you've done it and absolutely nailed it and no one it's taken us age it I say us my manager to move Hannah is here because no one would ever take a chance on me we've had so many meetings about telly and they're like you know commissioners just don't really want like a tiktoker or podcaster going on to telly it worked out so well like they said to me that they had such a high viewing audience of younger people this year and people just wanted to see me but it was weird because when i first got announced um it was just full of people going who's that who's this who the fuck is gk barrett is she a goalkeeper like all of the comments were just roasting me and then when I got out it was like middle-aged people like oh we actually really like her so I thought thank you when you how did it work so you got called into ITV they kind of said look we want you to do the show were you nervous about doing it so funny enough I was booked to do another show and what was the other show I cannot say could not say but you can probably guess I was does it maybe involve dancing Maybe.

32:49Who knows? No, that's been cut. Sorry. Wait, sorry. So you think they're not going to guess it from the dancing one, but then you... Wait, so you were booked on that one? I was booked for another show, and then I just got really bad anxiety, and I was like, I can't do this. So I pulled out. And then Mickey from ITV is like, give me a call. So I'm like, what could this be? She sells it to me so well. 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 but she said this is going to do amazing things for your career I heard career and thought call them in you heard good career I thought fine I can let this and then also one thing about me is I'm always in denial before something so I said yes to it and then was like I probably won't do it in my head I was like it's not going to happen then it got to the week before and I was having actual mental breakdowns I was like having horrible dreams I couldn't sleep 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 booked self-flight out here so yeah that was awful and when I was in holding my god I was like a mess wait what's the holding you're in hold I sound like jail you're like you've got a chaperone you drink wine with all the time um for like a week you've got no phone you're in a hotel room out in Australia before you get put in.

34:14Is that to like make you kind of like climatize to the situation? No, it's so you don't see any of the other contestants. I did, I read the leak. See any of the other contestants and you just sort of, I don't know, you're just out from anything else and then you get put in. But that was really fun. I actually didn't mind that, but I was struggling with not having my phone and what are people saying about me. But inside tea. I said to my chaperone listen I need a blow dry the humidity is no joke so he was like cool took me to a hairdresser's and he left me for one minute to take a phone call I said to the woman I said give me your phone I'm going on I'm a celebrity and I need to look at my socials to make myself feel better on myself I took that bitch's phone no you didn't you're lying I was looking at GK Barry I was like cool the announcement post awful who's this who's this I just turned the phone off took it back and I said and the anxiety went and I went this is why we aren't allowed our phones now I get it I learned from my mistake I fucked it and that was all I had to know about the outside before I went in that I was probably going to be first out that's all I had in my head it's so nerve-wracking man because like you realize it's such a big show yeah it's crazy big and you know in in the world of what you'd been living in you can edit and change and do different things you have complete control over it and then you're going into a space where the gods, the people who control it, have complete control over you.

35:39Yeah. And I, coming out, seeing the clips, I thought, I don't even remember having that convo. And like the scissoring thing that I was talking with Rev about, me and Rev were like, it's funny because they'll never put this in. Like it's ITV, they'll never put scissoring in. I came out and everyone was going scissor. And I was like, they put it in. Can you explain the story and who the Reverend was as well? Yeah. So Reverend Rich, he was in the communards and he's also a man of God now he came in became best friends with him and we taught each other everything he was teaching me about victorian children and his love for pots i was talking to him about scissoring and for juzzles so that was how our relationship worked and he honestly is the best man i've ever met really yeah i love him he's an icon what were you most terrified about in the jungle well it's weird i was more scared when i i thought i'd be more scared about sleeping outside and having no control over anything i hope huntsman spiders and snakes become extinct that's controversial but when you've been around with you i think they are the devil um i didn't realize the level of fear i had for insects and animals i just thought i'll be all right on the day um no I absolutely have an insane fear of anything that crawls or has multiple legs that was what I was most scared of the best who Hannah your manager who has been with you from day dot absolutely basically you're like sisters right you you basically you said that if you were going to be the first boat about yeah you can't be because you get to the end of the bridge and your manager would be there she would march me back to the camp she'd be like you have not wasted our time like this so I that was in the back of my head and when I started going for I thought she'll be all right with sixth.

37:26She'll be all right with seventh. And she would have been, to be fair, but I just thought, I need to do this for Hannah. It's so good. And my career. Why do you think you've done the crossover? Like being serious, like, because you do Loose Women, you've done this. You're the kind of first person really in the UK to kind of jump that platform. I think, firstly, it's because I moved to different platforms like my podcast. I think I know people in telly don't want a lot to do with tiktokers and just tiktokers so when I started getting offered like little tv stuff it was always podcast host so I was like right that's how I'm known and then I think maybe it's just contacts in the industry I think my manager's got some amazing contacts but also from my pod I was making friends with people in different areas and they were talking to people um but I don't know how I made it onto telly because I am very crude.

38:21I have an awful mouth and my humor is horrific. So I think, I don't know. Yeah, but mate, that's the beauty of it. I swear to God, you're like me. You like living in that dangerous area where we don't quite know what you're going to say. Yeah. Which is like, that is like the best thing because you don't quite know what's going to happen. Everyone's holding their breath and I'm on Loose Women. Yeah. Yeah. It's so good. It's so good. But I'm also quite shy. Like on Loose Women, I'm a mute. I think it'll be different now. I know, Jane. but I'm always so conscious of how I am on telly. Maybe it's helped because they're like, okay, she won't actually be that troublesome.

38:58Maybe now, but. You're the youngest person on Loose Women 2. I am. It's amazing. Thank God for that. You're in a relationship now. Yeah. Yeah. If she breaks up with me, I will physically die. Are you in love? Yeah. That is my wife. I would say a hundred percent. This is going to be awkward. Imagine she breaks up with me like tomorrow and you release this. myself and I'm like, well, but that's amazing. Yeah. First time you felt like this? 100%. I feel like before I was like, oh, maybe I'm in love. And then I'd break up with them and be like, I don't really care about them anymore. But that was nasty.

39:33Why does this feel different? Tell me. I just feel like I am like a leech. We are both leeches. We can never be away from each other. And I feel like, I don't know. I just love her so much. And sometimes I imagine her dying to then be like, would I, how would I react? And I'm really upset when I imagine her dying and that's how I know. I swear to you, Grace, when I realised I love Sophie, my wife, we were in, on holiday and she went off swimming and I suddenly thought, what if she was eaten by a shark? Yeah, and you get upset. And like suddenly getting really upset, I went, well, she died, that would be awful.

40:13Yeah. I don't really know what I would So glad you do that too. And then, after that, I sang in a maria and then I asked her to marry me. Not that day. What I was going to say. I waited a little bit. I waited a little bit. But because of that moment. Yeah. I feel like you know. And I've never really wanted to get married or to have kids because I do find them a little bit annoying. But I would with her. She would have to be the stay-at-home mum and I would have to escape to my job a little bit. But I would do that with her. And that's how I know. What does being in love feel like to you? Feel like?

40:43I don't know. I think it's just feeling really at home with someone. You know, even if you're away, if they're there, it just feels like home. It's really nice. It's really cute. I feel like when she is in pain, I feel like I'm in pain. Can I ask you a personal question? Yeah. What is the difference between dating a guy and then dating a girl? It's a complete difference. Really emotionally? They're so emotional, like women, but in a good way. like I think they're just a lot more thoughtful and you are on the same wavelength at all times and you know sometimes when I was dating men I'd say this has really pissed me off like and they'd be like I don't understand why that's pissed you off blah blah because you're on such different levels whereas with Ella I'm like this has pissed me off and she's like okay I can see how that pissed you off and you talk through it and also they do know the way around the vagina which is something that's very different for me.

41:41Toby just told me that I don't know where the... Still? Yeah. Okay. Have you YouTube tutorialed that? I found this guy on TikTok who talks about it. Before I met Ella, I had to YouTube tutorial how to finger, like five minutes before she came to my house. This is no word of a lie. When Toby found my first dating, I found this guy on TikTok who tells you different things. And he said to me, what you should do? He said, you should when they're sitting watching tv okay you should climb behind them sorry this and put your arm over them like a seat belt and that's a really weird good way of doing it i did that to sophie and she was like what are you doing and i was like and i was like you're trying like a soul yeah my breath was in her ear oh my god thing was i'm imagining it yeah that is tragic yeah and you still got married and i still got married she's a real one when was the moment when you realized you wanted to date women um it's funny because i'd slept with women but i was like i don't know if i would date one because i don't i've never done that before um and i wouldn't really know what to do and then when i met her like i was speaking to her for a bit and i was like oh like we get on kind of well so i was really scared to meet her because i'd never met a girl sober ever wow yeah ever like all like you know so i was like do you know what fuck it i really like her i think she's really fit and she's really funny so i'm just gonna fucking do it you only live once she came around i was like oh no we're gonna we're gonna have to get married like straight away we got on so well it was like that like that 100 i remember going to i had my pretty little thing shoot the next day and i skipped into that shoot and i went i'm in love with a girl and it's all I talk about all I talk about and everyone was like okay well this is you know are you because you've just met her and I was like no you don't understand I love her after a day I love her and they were like okay and she was doing the exact same thing the exact same thing which was great do you know the amazing thing is that you so many followers are younger right and like so many people are like questioning maybe their sexuality or questioning their life or like and you're just such a role model for those people truly are just to be like you are authentically yourself that is so great it's so amazing especially someone who is on the internet to be so authentically themselves it's so important on such a fake place that is amazing and you can so i think it's so difficult when people put everyone in like boxes of like you should okay if you fancy a girl you should be a lesbian or you're definitely lesbian i think like considering to a lot of people i feel like I had this awakening quite late.

44:27So I just think, however you feel, go with it. And if you just want to experiment, you can experiment. It doesn't mean you're anything. Just do whatever you want to do, as long as you're not hurting anyone. Do you think it's helped to find a boundary between Grace and G.K. Barry? Yeah. I think I speak so much more openly as G.K. Barry, because I just think, oh, they'll associate it with that, not me, even though that is me. But it's like, at home, I'd never swear in front of my parents I'd never talk about sex with my parents but since becoming this person I'm at home talking about the craziest shit saying the word shit in front of my parents like yeah it's weird I'm so happy for you man thank you I really am

45:13because you have your huge show tomorrow yeah so do you at you I can't wait I can't wait I spent so long you're doing it in Wembley Yeah. Man, it's just insane. Like, are you nervous for it? I'm a bit nervous about what I'll be like with the crowd. But on my rider, there is eight bottles of Prosecco. So I reckon if I work my way through half, I'll be fine when I get on there. You're going to be, you're amazing. How do you find live? I prefer it. Why? When I do my tours, I absolutely love it. And I feel like I'm funnier on stage. I don't know why. But I just think it's so fun. seeing everyone's reactions because you riff to them yeah it's that and i always pick on people in the crowd i love it like i think it's really funny and it's nice putting a face to a number you know when it's like oh you've got a couple million like follow it when you actually see them it's so good and hearing their stories so many people have crashed their cars listening to my podcast as well because i've been laughing so much it's a flex that is a flex are you proud of yourself yeah you should be yeah i think i've got imposter syndrome but i am i think it's quite it is mental but is the imposter syndrome quietening a little bit uh no okay good yeah again I'm gonna get a therapist at some point if you could have one thing now you say okay right here we go five years time this is what I want to be achieving what is it I want to be doing documentaries on the telly still popping off on social media maybe a Pomeranian that I can carry around in my bag still with my girlfriend and oh I'd just love to have just loads of money as well that would be nice and married yeah too right I'm not proposing though so she better just get on that grace you're the best honestly that was truly amazing thank you for coming on great company before we finish even though we've done questions we like to finish today with eight questions are you ready for this I'm ready what's a saying or phrase that makes you smile or cheers you up um up the bum now I'm done best compliment you ever received uh that i'm the funniest person they've met which is true what scares you most about yourself what i'm like after a rosé wine that's awful when was last time you cried and why uh after i got pie and mash because i felt overwhelmed get out of here yeah i swear to god i landed got pie and mash i felt really overwhelmed and you cried into it i cried in the car afterwards when I got back.

47:46I was like, it's just a lot. Are you a big crier? All the time. All the time? All day long. Yeah, I cry all the time. I don't cry happy tears. I just cry sad tears. And then I'm over it in like five seconds, but I'm just really emotional. I hate it. What's something you can't let go of? My girlfriend's ass. No, I'd say when people are mean to me, I will be stubborn with that. Yeah, 100%. What's your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is doing fuck all watching Real Housewives with a snus in my mouth. What turns you off? Oh, bad manners. What turns you on? Oh, just big minge energy. Big fucking pussy energy.

48:33Love it. What do you like most about yourself? I like my sense of humour. last one favourite swear word oh I love a fuck at the minute it's good right Grace thank you so much for coming you are honestly the best I adore you to bits and so does everyone else thank you so much for coming great company you're amazing thank you this is unbelievable made you unbelievable what do you think that was so fun it was great she's hilarious also what's amazing is that you're going to have to do this edit turn around real quick. Yeah, I am. I'm going to do that tomorrow, Sunday. Sunday's your day to do and edit it.

49:16It is. And I do also have an appointment to be playing my French horn tomorrow. We've got more caroling. That is facts. You're going to play the French horn? Yeah, a carol. Some more carols. What are you going to play? I'm just going caroling, man. Just call me Carol. New name. Okay. That's your new name. Just call you Carol. Don't. Don't call me Carol. Call me PJ. Okay. Well, do you know what? So we can't really talk about what you're going to edit because you actually haven't edited it yet. So we're just going to go blind into this. Probably keep it all in. Probably keep it all in. Okay, all right.

49:47Now, I'll make some cuts. I'll have a little shifty around. But that was really, really good. A little shifty around? A little shifty. A little shifty. Oh, a little shifty around. A little shifty woofty. Okay, all right. We hope you enjoyed the episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. Now, if you really liked it, again, like I said at the beginning, we would love to hear from you. You can slide into our DMs very easily on Instagram. We see all of them at Great Company Podcast, or you can send us an email, greatcompany at jamperproductions.co.uk. We want to hear from you guys. And remember, if you haven't subscribed to the show already, please do and share it with your friends because we absolutely love this show.

50:22Yeah, and it is also worth saying, next week, we don't have an episode coming out on Wednesday because next Wednesday is actual Christmas Day. So we thought, you do your Christmas Day, but we have our episode coming out on Monday. Yeah, we do. And then the following week, which is the 1st of January, a very special episode yeah we have a very special episode because it's going to oh okay just keep keep those lips sealed I'll keep those lips sealed alright I won't tell anyone anything good we'll keep it there producer Jemima okay thank you so much for listening and we'll see you next week on Monday on Monday not on Wednesday because that's Christmas Day but on Monday you can listen to our episode get ready for it have a great day we'll see you next week thank you so much bye but goodbye

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