A Manc fresher unpacked everything in halls, then realised she was in the wrong room

‘I woke up after my first night and realised, I wanted to cry’


What’s worse than having to unpack all your stuff when you first get to your uni halls? Having to pack it all up again, move it to another room, and then be laughed at by over one million people on TikTok. Well, that’s what happened to this Manchester uni fresher, and it’s honestly the funniest thing ever.

Phoebe Kelley, a first year Human Geography student, moved into Parkway Gate halls at the weekend. She decided to make a TikTok of her moving into uni experience. Little did she know it would become comedy gold as she somehow managed to move into the WRONG room in her flat.

It’s now had 1.1 million views, so we wanted to know more about the debacle. The Manchester Tab chatted to Phoebe about how it happened, whose room she moved into (is there any flat beef? Have they even seen the video??), and how she feels about forever being known as TikTok girl until she leaves uni.

HOW did it happen?

When we asked Phoebe how she managed to move into the wrong room, she said she just forgot to look at her room number and assumed the unlocked one was hers: “I don’t have a clue how I did it! I’m so silly, I literally got a letter with my name and room number on and just didn’t think to read it. The rooms were unlocked so I just assumed it was mine.

“I woke up after my first night and realised… I wanted to cry. I had to move all my stuff over on my own whilst my Dad cleaned the whole bathroom and everything, bless him!”

Phoebe out in Manchester during Freshers’, via Instagram @phoebekelleyyy

Whose room is it, and is her new one a downgrade?

Phoebe hasn’t posted a new room tour TikTok yet, so hopefully her new room is just as pretty as her old one. She told The Manchester Tab the person whose room it is hasn’t moved in yet, so doesn’t know his room has been seen by millions of people on TikTok: “The room belongs to a Malaysian student who luckily hadn’t moved yet, I haven’t told him yet but hopefully it will work as an ice breaker!

“The room I am in now was actually nicer. It was cleaner and has a nicer layout so I have a better view over the city. So I’m kind of thankful!”

10 points if you spot her round uni, via Instagram @phoebekelleyyy

‘I am okay with it being my label at uni’

Most importantly: How many people mentioned it to her during Freshers’ Week? Apparently, a lot: “Too many people have mentioned it to me so far. I’m already known as the TikTok girl back at home, I did not realise I would bring it to university with me.

“The receptionist of my building even came up to my room saying they had seen the TikTok and wanted to check everything in the other room was left tidy. It was, of course, I had cleaned it before I left!

“I am more than okay with it being my label at uni. It firstly worked as a wonderful icebreaker when I’ve been meeting new people from my university. It has also allowed me to make so many new friends, I had over 20 people messaging me telling me they are in the city for university too and would love to meet up, which is so amazing as in these situations it’s so much harder to make friends. Also I had some local businesses such as hair salons contacting me asking me to be hair models and stuff. So it really has worked in my favour!”

Bare impressed by the balloon arch, won’t lie, via Instagram @phoebekelleyyy

Is she gonna be a massive TikTok star?

Phoebe already had a pretty big TikTok before the moving video, but it’s really boosted her following on the platform. She now has almost 30,000 followers. She told The Manchester Tab: “I gained around 2,500 followers from the TikTok alone! That was so nice as I didn’t realise so many people would like my content and want to see more of it, I originally gained most of my followers from my ‘How I use my Dyson Airwrap’ TikTok which is my most viral one to date.”

The Dyson Airwrap video has over 2.6 million views, but Phoebe says: “Sadly I’ve had no DMs from Addison Rae or Charli yet.”

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