Zara McDermott

Zara Nicole McDermott (born 14 December 1996) is an English reality television 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).

Zara McDermott
McDermott in 2019
Born	Zara Nicole McDermott (1996-12-14) 14 December 1996 (age 28) Havering, London, England
Occupations	Television personality model singer television presenter
Years active	2009–present
Employer	BBC
Notable work	List of documentaries
Television	Love Island The X Factor: Celebrity Made in Chelsea Strictly Come Dancing

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), The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok (2024) 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] The pair split in 2024.^[13]

Career

2018–2020: reality television

In June 2018, McDermott became a contestant on the fourth series of Love Island.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17] She made her last appearance on the show in December 2020.^[18]

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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21][22] In March 2022, McDermott presented the dating series Love in the Flesh on BBC Three.^[23] The premise of the show featured couples who had only ever spoken online, meeting in person for the first time.^[24] In November 2022, she fronted a further documentary, Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating.^[25]

In July 2023, McDermott presented the documentary Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge, based on the disappearance and death of teenager Gaia Pope-Sutherland.^[26] A month later, she was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.^[27][28] 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.^[29][30] In 2024, she presented for the BBC The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok, where she heads to the small town of Moscow, Idaho to find out about the global online manhunt that followed four tragic murders. Also in 2024, she is set to present a four-part documentary series for the BBC titled Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island.^[31]

Filmography

Further information: 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	[14]
	Politics Live	Guest; 1 episode	[32]
	Panorama	Guest; 1 episode	[33]
2019–2020	Made in Chelsea	Cast member	[18]
2019	The X Factor: Celebrity	Contestant	[16]
2021	Revenge Porn	Presenter	[7]
	Uncovering Rape Culture	Presenter	[21]
2022	Love in the Flesh	Presenter	[23]
	Disordered Eating	Presenter	[25]
2023	Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge	Presenter	[26]
	Strictly Come Dancing	Contestant; series 21	[7]
2024	Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island	Presenter	[31]
	The Idaho Murders: Trial by Tiktok	Presenter	[34]
2025	Stalked (w/t)	Presenter	[35]
	Zara McDermott: Thailand	Presenter	[36]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2022	National Television Awards	Authored Documentary	Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture	Nominated	[37]