Zara Nicole McDermott (born 14 December 1996) is an English media personality. After working for the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

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 ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

'' (2019–2020). McDermott has since gone on to present her own

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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). In 2022, she began presenting the dating series ''Love in the Flesh'' on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

and in 2023, she is set to appear as a contestant on the twenty-first series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. In 2024, she will present a documentary series titled ''Inside Ibiza''.

Early and personal life

McDermott was born on 14 December 1996 in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

, England to Alan and Karen McDermott. In 2009, McDermott, her parents and her younger brother Brad appeared on the

television series ''

Wanted Down Under ''Wanted Down Under'' is a BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which in ...

'', where they considered moving to Australia. 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. At the age of 14, McDermott was suspended from her secondary school after sending nude photos to a boy. During her time on '' Love Island'', McDermott's nude photos were leaked again. She discussed both incidents in her BBC documentary, ''Revenge Porn''. McDermott previously worked for the

as a policy advisor. McDermott began dating television personality

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

in May 2019.

Career

2018–2020: Reality television

In June 2018, McDermott became a contestant on the fourth series of '' Love Island''. 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. 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 Eyal Adi Booker (born 2 August 1995) is an English media personality. Whilst attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School, he was selected as a member of the music group EverYoung. Then in 2018, he was a contestant on the fourth series of '' Love ...

Samira Mighty Samira Mighty (born 16 November 1995) is an English television personality, actress and singer. Mighty began her career with appearances in West End theatre shows including '' Mamma Mia!'' and ''Dreamgirls'', as well as an appearance in the 201 ...

and

Wes Nelson Wesley Nelson (born 18 March 1998) is an English singer and television personality. In 2018, he appeared in the fourth series of the ITV2 reality series '' Love Island'', and has since competed on ''Dancing on Ice'', '' The X Factor: Celebrity' ...

. They were mentored by

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

and finished in eighth place. The same month, McDermott began appearing as a cast member on the E4 reality series ''

'', alongside Thompson. She made her last appearance on the show in December 2020.

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. In February 2021, McDermott appeared in her own

documentary, ''Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn'', which saw her recall the experience of having her nude photos leaked as a teenager. 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. In March 2022, McDermott presented the dating series ''Love in the Flesh'' on

. The premise of the show featured couples who had only ever spoken online, meeting in person for the first time. In November 2022, she fronted a further documentary, ''Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating''. In July 2023, McDermott presented the documentary ''Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge'', based on the disappearance and death of teenager Gaia Pope-Sutherland. A month later, she was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of ''

''. She became the first ''Love Island'' cast member to be cast on the series. In 2024, she is set to present a four-part documentary series for the BBC titled ''Inside Ibiza''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Zara 1996 births 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers English female models English television presenters Living people People from the London Borough of Havering Television personalities from Essex The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Love Island (2015 TV series) contestants British political consultants