We all love a little bit of New Year’s telly, whether you’re an avid fan of The Traitors, or you’re binging on Squid Games 2. But yesterday (Jan 1st) some fans got the shock of their life when they tuned into Netflix’s brand-new drama Missing You written by Harlan Coben.

In the first scene of the show, GK Barry (real name Grace Keeling) appears twirling with her hair and playing under a blanket making a surprise acting debut in 2025. While her character is seen a voice over is heard saying: “I dream of you. Kissing you. Holding You. The feel of your skin against mine. I love you.”

Fans were quick to hop on socials tagging Grace and saying things like, “I’m sorry whaaaaaa @gkbarry_ hi I was not expecting to see you”.

GK Barry shocked fans with acting debut. Picture: Instagram

After keeping her new career move a secret, the podcast host shared it to her Instagram story playfully responding with, “[laughing faces] hny [happy new year] everyone x”.

Who does GK Barry play in Netflix’s Missing You?

The internet star plays a foot cam girl called Vanessa. Addressing her acting debut in a TikTok, Grace said: “Slap me ar– and call me Reese Witherspoon, I’m an actress now. Don’t know if you’ve seen. I was in a Netflix series Missing You, foot cam girl Vanessa aka Twinkle Toes. That was my role, obviously, very fitting.

“I like to have my fingers in a lot of pies, don’t tell my girlfriend but I do. And I can now tick that off, been in a Netflix series, didn’t have any lines, fair probably right they didn’t trust me with lines.”

Her acting debut comes after an impressive stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! staring alongside Coleen Rooney, Maura Higgins and winner Danny Jones where she became best pals with Reverend Richard Coles.

Talking to Cosmopolitan about how she ended up in Missing You, she said: “They approached my manager and said, ‘We’re doing this new Netflix show, and we’d love Grace to be a little part in it.’ And I thought, ‘Well, I’m not going to say no.’

“So we got on a call, and they were explaining who my character was, and it made me laugh so much because it’s very on brand.” Grace revealed that her character is a “foot cam girl.”

Still from Netflix’s Missing You. Picture: Netflix

She continued: “They gave me a brief outline of what it was about and read me the line up of people [involved] and I thought, ‘I absolutely will do that.’

“I just wanted to do it because I thought it was kind of iconic. I want to build the CV up so my parents cannot moan about anything! I would do [more acting], like The Office vibes, or something that doesn’t involve tense acting. I couldn’t do Game of Thrones.”

The cast of Missing You includes the likes of Matt Willis, Ashley Walters and Lenny Henry.