EXCLUSIVE: Social media star and presenter Grace Keeling ‘GK’ Barry will officially front a soon-to-launch BBC documentary about controversial online forum Tattle Life.
GK Barry: Toxic Gossip will see the podcast host exploring the forum, which allows users to post about social media stars, creators and influencers.
The BBC plans to launch the doc on its YouTube channels and BBC iPlayer next week on Wednesday, July 1. Programs rarely make it to this point without more detail leaking, but the British broadcaster has broadly kept the show, which is from Full Fat Television, and Barry’s involvement under wraps until now.
Barry had previously praised contributors from the show on social media, and it was known Full Fat was working a Tattle Life doc, but we have the full detail for the first time.
The doc will see Barry, who has millions of social media followers, providing her own perspective into what it means to have every aspect of life scrutinized online, as she looks at whether Tattle Life is either a space where anonymous users can target influencers and attack people in the public eye or if it holds online personalities to account.
Barry will meet the likes of a woman whose husband was accused of faking cancer, with the allegations continuing after his death, and Sophie Dickson, whose daughter Princess Dickson took her own life earlier this year. The presenter will also attempt to get a sit down with Tattle Life’s publicity-shy owner, who last year named publicly in legal documents as Sebastian Bond.
Tattle Life says it has a zero-policy to any content that is abusive, hateful or harmful, but did not respond to the allegations made on the program.
“Having read so much online and in the news about Tattle Life, and personally been spoken about on it, I wanted to speak to the people whose lives have been affected by the comments to understand the impact they have had,” said Barry.
Rachel Platt, BBC Commissioning Editor, added: “GK Barry might not be your typical BBC investigative reporter but that’s exactly what makes her the perfect guide through this story. She brings candour, curiosity and a sense of humour to a subject that’s often anything but funny.”
Colette Foster, exec producer at Full Fat billed Barry’s role as “part investigative sleuth, part accidental detective.”
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