GK Barry will be on the pitch for Soccer Aid 2026 when the charity match returns on Sunday, May 31, at the London Stadium. The broadcaster is bringing back the fundraising event for its 20th anniversary, with the game set to start at 6.30pm British Summer Time and air on ITV and ITVX.
Barry, whose real name is Grace Eleanor Keeling, is one of nine new stars added to the line-up this year. The appearance gives her another high-profile turn in a format that mixes football, television and charity, and puts her in front of a Sunday-night audience that will be watching both the match and the celebrity names attached to it.
For many viewers, the search around Barry today is about whether she is taking part and what that means for the rest of the event. She has built a sizeable following since rising to fame through TikTok while studying film studies at university, later turning that into a podcast audience for Saving Grace, which has 1.5 million listeners. She has also appeared on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, making her one of the better-known personalities stepping into this year’s charity fixture.
Her involvement also comes after scrutiny over a 2024 interview with Bonnie Blue on Saving Grace, which drew criticism at the time. In that episode, Bonnie Blue discussed having sex with 158 people in two weeks, said she had gone to student areas in Australia and the UK, and said men queued for hours after she shared her location. Barry has since been drawn into a very different public setting, one that is likely to give her a softer audience but no less attention.
Outside football, one of the reasons interest in Barry keeps running high is her relationship with Ipswich Town footballer Ella Rutherford. Rutherford confirmed the pair’s relationship last year with an Instagram birthday message that read, “Happy Birthday babe. I love you more and more every day.” Barry marked her 25th birthday this year, another detail that has kept her name circulating well beyond her online work.
What remains unclear is the role she will actually play once Soccer Aid begins. Her name is on the list of new arrivals, but no position has been confirmed yet. By Sunday evening, the event will be underway, the cameras will be rolling and Barry will be part of one of the year’s most watched charity broadcasts.
