A teacher who gave up her job to pursue social media full-time has become an overnight success and is now rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest stars in TV.
Since starting her TikTok account, Shirleigh Humphreys, from Rochester, has attended the launch of the Celebrity Traitors, walked the red carpet at the TV BAFTAs, and been invited to various movie premieres.
Shirleigh with comedian Alan Carr and fellow content creator Chris Murphy
The 34-year-old who posts videos of herself reviewing and discussing British TV shows says she was inspired by her love of social media.
Shirleigh told KentOnline: “I remember saying to my class on my last day, ‘I can’t stand here in front of you saying achieve your dreams if I’m not achieving mine’.
“I left my job and began working as an account manager at a company to gain some professional experience because it’s really difficult to go into a completely different career.
“Then in 2023, I posted my first video, and that’s how my content got started.”
After filming a series on Strictly Come Dancing that same year, she gained more than 9,000 followers in just 10 weeks.
The former teacher from Rochester gave up her job in 2021 to pursue social media
But it was last September when her account really boomed.
It came after a representative from TikTok reached out, inviting Shirleigh to the launch of the first series of The Celebrity Traitors.
She said: “I didn’t believe it, I thought it was spam.
“Then I saw who it was from, and searched LinkedIn to see if they were legitimate, and I was like, oh my gosh.
“From that point, it’s been a lot of collaborative work directly with TikTok.
“It’s now turned into this really fun relationship where I’m part of a club where you can speak and work with them directly to support content.”
The 34-year-old posts reviews and videos on TikTok about mainly British TV shows
Since then, she has attended the Kinky Boots musical gala, the premiere of The Magic Faraway Tree and events to showcase upcoming Channel Four and Sky programmes.
And, just last week, Shirleigh was invited to the BAFTA TV Awards.
She added: “I cried when I found out because it was one of my goals for 2026 to get an invite, but then panic set in because I had two weeks to organise hair and makeup, a dress, and a hotel.”
Looking back on last Sunday (May 10), she added: “Walking the red carpet was crazy because you have all these people around you who you’ve seen on TV, and then I turned to my right, and there was Alan Carr saying, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’
“Then, when I got inside and to my seat, there were celebrities who knew me from my TikTok content coming up to me to say hello.
Shirleigh with Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse at the BAFTA TV awards
“I spoke to Amber Davis and Bradley Riches as well as Lucy Punch about how much I loved Ella Enchanted and Amandaland.
“It was just really nice to have people say that I deserved to be in the room and that I’d worked really hard for this from people whom I’d never thought a couple of years ago I’d be talking to.”
Currently, Shirleigh’s TikTok account has more than 30,000 followers and over 3.5million likes.
As well as sharing her opinions, she also posts about episode predictions and cast news.
She said: “I love mostly covering British TV like Strictly Come Dancing, The Traitors, The Apprentice, Britain’s Got Talent, and The Masked Singer, but I also like talking about new ones because people can be quite hesitant to try a new one.
Shirleigh often goes to Channel Four events for the launches of their new TV shows
“One that I talked about, Handcuffed, went viral. It’s a programme where they handcuff polar opposites to each other to see how long they can last being in each other’s company.
“I made a video about the first episode, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, you need to check this out’, and it went crazy.
“There were people on TV talking about how they’d seen a TikTok about Handcuffed and now felt inclined to watch it, and I was the only one who’d made a video on it and realised they were talking about me.
“Then I found out from one of the major creators that a lot of people discovered that show from me.”
Shirleigh’s social media success continues to lead her to exclusive TV and film industry opportunities.
Shirleigh is due to attend the Britain’s Got Talent final later this month
Just this week she has been to the premieres of crime-thriller Tuner featuring Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman, and romantic comedy Finding Emily.
She is also set to attend the Britain’s Got Talent finale at the end of the month.
Shirleigh added: “I want to show that even when you’re in your 30s, you can still change things.
“You’re expected to know what you want to be at 30 years old and where your life is heading, but I wasn’t happy in my career.
“Fast forward five years, and I’m in a much happier space because I made that leap.”
