Kathryn Turner has been a hit on Instagram with her insider knowledge of the retailer’s upcoming snacks. Photograph: Marks and Spencers View image in fullscreen Kathryn Turner has been a hit on Instagram with her insider knowledge of the retailer’s upcoming snacks. Photograph: Marks and Spencers Halloween Why M&S director Kathryn Turner is the ultimate ‘Gay Halloween’ costume idea Product development boss at Marks & Spencer inspires niche outfits after unexpected success on social media
Lauren Cochrane Fri 30 Oct 2026 18.18 CET First published on Fri 30 Oct 2026 17.48 CET Share Prefer the Guardian on Google S he is not the most likely viral star. But with 310,000 followers on TikTok and 270,000 on Instagram, Marks & Spencer Food’s director of product development, Kathryn Turner, has suddenly become one of the year’s big hits on social media. Her videos take the viewer with her as she goes in-store to look at new dessert launches, including its banana, caramel and pecan pudding, or taste test its latest products, such as its cherry and chocolate cookies .
Turner is part of Marks & Spencer’s wider social media strategy implemented in 2020 as a way of attracting younger shoppers. Instead of using traditional influencers, M&S now champions 100 of its own employees on TikTok .
Turner, who launched her account in May, now regularly receives more than 1m likes on her videos, with celebrities including Nigella Lawson and Stormzy among her followers. Part of the appeal is Turner’s insider knowledge and expertise: she has worked at M&S since 1995.
This weekend, she will gain another prestigious accolade as fans spurn ghosts, witches and vampires and instead dress up as her for Halloween . The formula is simple. Some Turner-esque glasses, a blond wig and a packet of M&S cookies.
The content creator Liam Gleed has been posting videos of himself as Turner in the run-up to Halloween and plans to wear the costume this weekend. “To be very real, I love a sweet treat and I work close to an M&S so I follow her socials to find out what snacks I’ll be getting every Friday at work,” he says. “The more niche you go for Halloween, the better. Why go as basic characters when you can dress as your current fixation or icons of the internet?”
View image in fullscreen The mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, filling a pothole this year have also fuelled niche costume ideas. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Gleed says it is the “real person” element that appeals to him. “I think it’s quite hilarious that someone who works as a product developer at M&S can become this on social media,” he says. “That’s what made the content work so well – it is so random that she is this popular figure from quite a normal job.”
Dressing like someone such as Turner – an improbable online star – rather than a spooky character or a movie star fits into the idea of Gay Halloween. This is a way of approaching the dress-up holiday that utilises an online pop culture reference – the more specific the better. It taps into “if you know, you know” culture.
This year, that could be anything from an iced coffee at a job interview, based on a viral story about whether or not it is acceptable, to Chappell Roan’s security guard, who allegedly made a fan cry , or the prenup papers for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s marriage.
View image in fullscreen Gassed to be grass? Dancers at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show may also provide costume inspiration. Photograph: San Francisco Chr…