Zara McDermott
McDermott in 2019
Born
Zara Nicole McDermott

(1996-12-14) 14 December 1996 (age 27)
Havering, London, England
Occupations
  • Television personality
  • model
  • singer
  • television presenter
Years active2009–present
EmployerBBC
Notable workList of documentaries
Television
PartnerSam Thompson (2019–present)

Zara Nicole McDermott (born 14 December 1996) is an English media personality. After working for the Department for Education as a policy advisor, she became a contestant on the fourth series of Love Island (2018) and subsequently appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity (2019) and Made in Chelsea (2019–2020).

McDermott has gone on to present her own BBC documentaries, including: Revenge Porn (2021), Uncovering Rape Culture (2021) and Disordered Eating (2022) based on her own experiences, as well as Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge (2023) and Inside Ibiza (2024). In 2022, she presented the dating series Love in the Flesh on BBC Three and a year later, she competed on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Early and personal life

McDermott was born on 14 December 1996 in the London Borough of Havering, England to Alan and Karen McDermott.[1][2][3] In 2009, McDermott, her parents and her younger brother Brad appeared on the BBC television series Wanted Down Under, where they considered moving to Australia.[4] They featured on the show again in 2013, on Wanted Down Under: Revisited, which saw the family discuss why they decided to remain in the United Kingdom.[5] At the age of 14, McDermott was suspended from her secondary school after sending nude photos to a boy.[6] During her time on Love Island, McDermott's nude photos were leaked again. She discussed both incidents in her BBC documentary, Revenge Porn.[7]

McDermott previously worked for the Department for Education as a policy advisor.[8][9]

In May 2019, McDermott began dating television personality Sam Thompson.[10][11][12]

Career

2018–2020: Reality television

In June 2018, McDermott became a contestant on the fourth series of Love Island.[13] She entered the villa as a "bombshell" contestant on Day 15 and coupled up with Adam Collard, before being dumped from the villa ten days later.[14] In October 2019, McDermott took part in The X Factor: Celebrity as part of No Love Lost, a group which featured her Love Island co-stars Eyal Booker, Samira Mighty and Wes Nelson.[15] They were mentored by Louis Walsh and finished in eighth place. The same month, McDermott began appearing as a cast member on the E4 reality series Made in Chelsea, alongside Thompson.[16] She made her last appearance on the show in December 2020.[17]

2021–present: Documentaries and Strictly Come Dancing

McDermott admitted that she had felt like the least successful person from her series of Love Island and wanted to take an unconventional approach to success. After departing from Made in Chelsea, she explained that she wanted to move on from short-term brand deals and reality television to focus on making documentaries.[18] In February 2021, McDermott appeared in her own BBC documentary, Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn, which saw her recall the experience of having her nude photos leaked as a teenager.[19] She later appeared in a follow-up documentary, Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture, in November, which saw McDermott draw on her own experience of almost being raped.[20][21] In March 2022, McDermott presented the dating series Love in the Flesh on BBC Three.[22] The premise of the show featured couples who had only ever spoken online, meeting in person for the first time.[23] In November 2022, she fronted a further documentary, Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating.[24]

In July 2023, McDermott presented the documentary Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge, based on the disappearance and death of teenager Gaia Pope-Sutherland.[25] A month later, she was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.[26][27] She became the first Love Island cast member to be cast on the series. McDermott was paired with Graziano Di Prima and they were the fifth couple to be eliminated Halloween Week.[28][29] In 2024, she is set to present a four-part documentary series for the BBC titled Inside Ibiza.[30]

Filmography

Further information: List of documentaries presented by Zara McDermott
As herself
Year Title Role Ref.
2009 Wanted Down Under Participant; 1 episode [4]
2013 Wanted Down Under: Revisited Participant; 1 episode [5]
2018 Love Island Contestant; series 4 [13]
2018 Politics Live Guest; 1 episode [31]
2018 Panorama Guest; 1 episode [32]
2019–2020 Made in Chelsea Cast member [17]
2019 The X Factor: Celebrity Contestant; 8th place [15]
2021 Revenge Porn Presenter [7]
2021 Uncovering Rape Culture Presenter [20]
2022 Love in the Flesh Presenter [22]
2022 Disordered Eating Presenter [24]
2023 Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge Presenter [25]
2023 Strictly Come Dancing Contestant; series 21 [7]
2024 Inside Ibiza Presenter [30]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2022 National Television Awards Authored Documentary Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture Nominated [33]

References

  1. ^ "Who is Zara McDermott? Get to know the Love Island and Made In Chelsea star". Heat. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn – Which ex boyfriend betrayed the Love Island star?". Entertainment Daily. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Meet Zara McDermott's parents: Alan and Karen appear in Made in Chelsea's 2020 series!". Reality Titbit. 6 April 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Wanted Down Under, Series 3, Episode 7, McDermott". BBC. 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Wanted Down Under: Revisted, Series 6, Episode 6, McDermott". BBC. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Zara McDermott: revenge porn almost ruined my life". The Times. 12 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Zara McDermott: 'Revenge porn still affects me today'". BBC. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Inside Zara McDermott's job in government before Love Island as she give surprising details". OK!. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Love Island's Zara McDermott says she'll be allowed to return to government job". Cosmopolitan. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Zara McDermott: I asked my ex public school partner why some posh boys behave so badly". The Times. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Made in Chelsea's Zara McDermott and Sam Thompson cheating drama, explained". Digital Spy. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Sam Thompson breaks silence on getting back with Zara McDermott". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Who is Zara McDermott? Meet the new Love Island 2018 contestant who says she wants to bring out the "fun" in Alex". Radio Times. 25 June 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Zara McDermott - Love Island". ITV. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Meet The Islanders – the Love Island series four stars taking part in The X Factor: Celebrity". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Everything You Need To Know About Zara McDermott". Grazia. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Made in Chelsea's Zara McDermott reveals why she's quit the reality show". Digital Spy. 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Zara McDermott speaks about Love Island 'failure' five years after the villa". Heat. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  19. ^ "BBC Three announces Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn (w/t)". BBC. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Zara McDermott Uncovers: Rape Culture". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Love Island's Zara McDermott opens up about sexual assault". BBC News. 16 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  22. ^ a b "BBC Three's Love In The Flesh delves into digital dating". BBC. 1 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Love In The Flesh: Meet the couples and presenter Zara McDermott". BBC. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Zara McDermott: 'I considered deleting social media after learning impact on disordered eating'". BBC Three. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Death of Dorset teenager, Gaia Pope-Sutherland, to be explored by Zara McDermott in new documentary for BBC Three". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Zara McDermott is the seventh celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly 2023!". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing contestants 2023: Zara McDermott joins line-up". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  28. ^ Tinson, Emma (7 August 2023). "Strictly confirms Love Island star for 2023 line-up". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  29. ^ Ng, Ellie (29 October 2023). "Strictly judges send home fifth celebrity after dance-off with 'fighting spirit'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Zara McDermott goes inside Ibiza in new four part documentary series for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Love Islander Zara on politicians and TV stars". BBC. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  32. ^ "BBC Panorama episode about Instagram and YouTube influencers divides opinions online". The Independent. 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  33. ^ Morris, Lauren (24 May 2022). "NTA 2022 longlist revealed as David Tennant and Sex Education nominated". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.

External links

Love Island
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