'I just love yapping': Spud sellers, posh-girl comedy and bus-loving gran among TikTok award nominees

Sarel is best known for her Love Island debriefs after each episode

When Sarel presses record on her phone, there's no script, no set and no meticulous plan for what she's about to say.

"I'm usually wearing my bonnet, no makeup and I just pick up the phone and start yapping," she says.

"I believe in maximum output for minimal effort, so if I have to do more than the bare minimum, I likely won't do it. That's why I just talk to the camera and post."

In only a few years, Sarel's unfiltered style has turned her from an ordinary voice online into one of TikTok's most distinctive personalities, with more than one million followers on the platform.

Famous for her Love Island debriefs, Sarel is among the nominees at the second annual TikTok awards - a celebration of the creators shaping online culture in the UK.

There are 72 nominees across 12 categories including education, beauty, comedy, food and sport. The nominees have a combined following of more than 83 million followers.

From breakout comedians to beauty innovators, this year's nominees include jacket potato entrepreneurs, tap dancing brothers, a bus loving aunty, a BookTok aficionado and a film location fangirl.

Coco Sarel

Sarel can't quite believe that the thing she does most naturally - talking - has gained her millions of followers and likes.

"It's mad people want to watch me yap," she says. But the simplicity of her process is part of the appeal and "you really do see 100% of me on the camera".

Her journey has also taken her beyond the screen, and in 2023 she performed at the Edinburgh Fringe festival with fellow TikTok stars.

"I've got a whole new respect for comedians after doing that," she says. "With content, if people don't like it, they scroll away, but if you bomb on stage, the whole room is looking at you like, 'That's terrible'".

With visibility comes scrutiny, and Sarel says it's not always easy dealing with the darker side of social media.

"The hate is always louder than the love," she says. "Five years ago, I'd clap back in the comments, but I'm 31 now and I'm too tired for that so I just block it out and ignore it."

Because she started sharing later in life, Sarel is still figuring out how much of herself to put online.

"I go off how I feel in the moment, and my audience respects that," she says. "I started off like I was just talking to friends, but now I protect parts of my life I don't want everyone's opinion on."

While social media is full of people turning major life events into months-long content strategies, Sarel isn't interested in that and even significant milestones tend to pass with little fanfare on her feed.

"I recently got married and I did two videos, then I was like, 'Let's talk about The Traitors.' I've got ADHD, so I move on quickly."

Henry Rowley

The 27-year-old was a marketing executive before finding fame on TikTok

Best known for his "husky posh girl" sketches, Henry Rowley has become one of TikTok's sharpest comedy voices.

The Leicester-born performer discovered his now signature characters while studying at Bristol University, where he found himself "surrounded by a whole new world of posh" and he couldn't resist turning it into material.

"Some of those posh people were my friends and I found everything they said hilarious, so I started making videos about things they'd say on nights out."

His sketches, which more recently include impressions of Harry Potter characters as if they were Scottish, has earned him more than a million followers on TikTok.

He's also tried to carve a space in stand-up - a move he admits has been challenging.

"It's entirely different doing content and comedy on stage," he says. "Stand-up takes a lot of work and before the Fringe and my tour, there were so many pubs and awful gigs where I did a 20-minute set to zero laughs. It's certainly humbling."

Despite his rising profile, Rowley protects much of his life from the public eye.

"I mainly post characters and sketches so people who follow me don't know that much about me, which is really nice. I like having that balance," he says.

His advice for other people starting out creating content is similar to what most of the nominees said: "Don't try and go viral but instead focus on doing something you are genuinely interested in."

Bemi Orojuogun

Bemi, known as Bus Aunty, is nominated for best video of the year which has been watched 49 million times

If London has an unofficial ambassador for its buses, it might just be Bus Aunty.

Often seen smiling beside a passing double-decker, she's turned her lifelong love of the capital's transport network into a viral celebration of city life.

"My love for buses comes from a long time ago, from the early 90s," she says. "I have always taken a picture of myself with buses and one random day I chose to post one on TikTok and it went viral, and now here we are."

One of her videos, which is nominated for best video of the year, has been viewed amost 50 million times and Bemi now has collaborations with Burberry and Ikea.

The mental health nurse has become one of TikTok's most unexpected success stories and she admits "it's slightly overwhelming that everyone recognises me".

"I get recognised in the streets sometimes and people say, 'Oh, hello, Bus Aunty.' I never thought people would be stopping me in my wildest dreams and it's taken some getting used to."

"To be nominated is amazing," she says of her TikTok Awards nod.

"If I'm nominated, it means I deserve to be here, and I really do love buses and love London and hopefully that shows."

She's also proud to represent a different side of the app's community.

"You're never too old," she says firmly. "I would never have thought I could do TikTok and be nominated for awards, but here I am, having only posted for just over a year.

"Never give up on your dream because what I love about London has got me here."

Jack Edwards

If TikTok has a resident librarian, it's Jack Edwards, who has built a devoted following by sharing his love of reading. But he says his journey into social media stardom began with rejection.

"It was lockdown and I was looking for a job in publishing and no-one wanted to hire me," he recalls. "My inbox was snorkelling in a sea of rejection and every email started with the word unfortunately.

"So I started talking about the books I was reading on social media."

What began as a side project quickly turned into a full-time career, and Edwards ended up leaving the job he'd eventually secured in publishing.

He says his advice to would-be creators is finding what makes their content personal.

"You have so many interests," he explains. "If you were to create a Venn diagram of them all, the crossover in the middle is what you should make content about. For me, the cross-section is books, travel and pop culture."

Edwards adds that he's careful about how much of himself he reveals to his audience. "I talk about the books and art I love, but never the people I love," he says.

"But of course when you talk about books, you end up talking about everything from trauma, to politics, to sexuality."

That openness has seen him create a community that stretches far beyond the screen.

"People say, 'Hi' in the street and it's the best thing ever. We have a mini book club right there on the pavement, an instant Jane Austen love-fest, and I know it's so strange but honestly it's really special for me."

Still, internet fame brings its odd moments.

"Sometimes you get a message saying, 'Oh, hi, I just saw you at the urinal,'" he laughs. "Being spotted in those kinds of places never gets normal."