Zara McDermott is one of the clearest examples in British television of a reality star who completely changed direction. She arrived on screen in 2018 as a late entrant to Love Island. Within a few years, she was fronting BBC documentaries about image-based sexual abuse, consent in schools, disordered eating, stalking and the hidden costs of party tourism.
This profile brings together what is on the public record: her background, her career, the documentaries that changed how she is seen, the relationships she has spoken about publicly, and what she is doing now.
Zara McDermott at a Glance
- Full name: Zara Nicole McDermott
- Born: 14 December 1996, in Havering, London, England
- Age: 29 (she turns 30 in December 2026)
- From: Essex / London
- Known for: Love Island series 4 (2018), Made in Chelsea, Strictly Come Dancing (2023), and a run of BBC documentaries
- Previous job: Policy advisor for the Department for Education
- Current work: BBC documentary presenter, broadcaster and founder of the clothing brand Rise
Who Is Zara McDermott?
Zara Nicole McDermott was born on 14 December 1996 in the London Borough of Havering, to parents Alan and Karen McDermott. She has a younger brother, Brad.
Television entered her life long before Love Island. In 2009 she appeared with her parents and brother on the BBC series Wanted Down Under, in which the family considered emigrating to Australia. They returned for Wanted Down Under: Revisited in 2013 and talked about deciding to stay in the UK.
What Did Zara McDermott Do Before Love Island?
Before fame, McDermott worked in government as a policy advisor, including for the Department for Education. That unusual background for a reality contestant gave her direct exposure to how laws are made and how a personal story becomes a public campaign — experience that is clearly visible in her later work on image-based abuse.
The Love Island Breakthrough
When Was Zara McDermott on Love Island?
McDermott entered Love Island series 4 in June 2018 as a “bombshell” contestant on Day 15. She coupled up with Adam Collard and was dumped from the villa around ten days later, on Day 25.
She and Collard continued dating after the show for around eight months, splitting in February 2019. She later described that period as damaging to her confidence and said she considered returning to government work. Instead, she stayed — but the kind of television she wanted to make began to change.
The X Factor: Celebrity and Made in Chelsea
In October 2019, McDermott took part in The X Factor: Celebrity as part of No Love Lost, with fellow Love Island alumni Eyal Booker, Samira Mighty and Wes Nelson. The group finished eighth.
She also joined E4’s Made in Chelsea from 2019 to 2020, alongside Sam Thompson, whom she had started dating in May 2019. Behind the scenes, she was already developing the project that would redefine her career.
For another Love Island star’s story, read our profile of Chris Hughes, his career, girlfriend and untold facts.
The Turning Point: Zara McDermott’s BBC Documentaries
McDermott’s documentary work is now the centre of her career, moving from deeply personal subjects to wider investigations. Her presenter profile notes that her films have been shown in schools as part of PSHE lessons and assemblies.
Revenge Porn (2021)
Her first BBC film, Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn, was released on BBC Three in February 2021 and also shown on BBC One.
In the documentary she spoke in detail, for the first time, about being a victim of image-based sexual abuse twice. She has said publicly, in the film and in interviews around it, that she was first affected at the age of 14, when she was suspended from school after an image she had sent was shared, and again during Love Island in 2018, when intimate photographs of her were leaked online while she was in the villa.
The film did not stop at her own story. She met other victims, asked why people share images without consent, and examined how rarely perpetrators faced consequences at that time. In interviews as it aired, she said she wanted to leave reality television behind and make more documentaries.
That work led to campaigning beyond television, including work with the charity Refuge on threats to share intimate images, and speaking to government and the Home Office about violence against women and girls. Her consistent argument is that shame should sit with the person who shares an image without consent, not with the person in it.
Uncovering Rape Culture (2021)
Later in 2021 came Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture, which investigated sexual harassment, assault and attitudes to consent in UK schools. In the film she spoke about her own experience of sexual assault as a schoolgirl — something she chose to disclose as part of the documentary. Speaking around the release, she called for a clear, nationally recognised way for schools to record and report incidents, and for better education about pressure and consent.
Disordered Eating (2022)
Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating, first shown in November 2022, looked at the sharp rise in eating disorders and disordered eating among children and young people, and asked how far social media is part of the problem. You can read the broadcaster’s original announcement in the BBC Three announcement for Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating.
After Love Island, she had faced sustained online comments about her body, then documented a diet and fitness journey extensively on social media. In the BBC’s reporting around the film, she explained that the trolling damaged her self-esteem, that she became focused on how she looked, and that she later worried about the effect of her own posts — particularly after teenage followers messaged her describing severely restricted eating and asking for help.
In the film she asked whether influencers like her had contributed to the problem, met young people living with disordered eating and in recovery, and reconsidered content she had previously defended. She has not claimed a clinical diagnosis for herself — what is on record is what she said about her relationship with food, exercise, body image and social media at that time.
Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge (2023)
In 2023, McDermott presented Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge, a three-part investigation into the disappearance and death of 19-year-old Gaia Pope-Sutherland in Dorset in 2017. The series examined the search for Gaia, the questions her family continued to raise, and issues including online grooming. Without a personal connection to the case, she had to carry a sensitive true-crime story on interviewing and empathy alone — skills that shaped her next commissions.
Strictly Come Dancing — and What Happened Afterwards
Zara McDermott on Strictly in 2023
In 2023 McDermott competed in series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Graziano Di Prima. She reached Halloween week and was eliminated in week six. She spoke at the time about being a long-time fan of the show who had watched early series with her late grandmother, and she was widely reported as the first former Love Island contestant to be cast on Strictly.
Her Statement in July 2024
In July 2024, the BBC confirmed Di Prima would not return to Strictly. A spokesperson for Di Prima subsequently confirmed to the BBC that he had kicked McDermott during a rehearsal, that he knew it was a mistake and that he had apologised at the time. Full reporting of that confirmation was carried by national news outlets, including the Glasgow Times report on Graziano Di Prima and Zara McDermott.
McDermott then published her own statement on Instagram. She praised the production team, crew and fellow contestants, but said her experience inside the training room had been very different. She said there were witnesses and video of particular incidents she found distressing to watch, that she had feared public backlash and victim shaming, and that she had spoken candidly to the BBC when asked. Those primary statements — hers and the BBC’s reporting — are what is on record, rather than later social media speculation.
Beyond BBC Three: Ibiza, Idaho, Stalking and Thailand
By 2024, her brief had widened to location-based series about British behaviour abroad and online crime.
- Love in the Flesh (2022): An entertainment detour rather than a documentary — she presented this BBC Three dating series, filmed in Greece, in which couples who had only dated online met in person for the first time.
- The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok (2024): A film about the murders of four students in Idaho in the United States and the huge online speculation that followed, examining how social media true-crime culture can affect real investigations and families.
- Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island (2024): A four-part series looking behind Ibiza’s luxury clubs, yachts and villas at money, drugs, crime and the emergency services who deal with the consequences of the party season.
- To Catch a Stalker (2025): A series, commissioned by the BBC under the working title Stalked, following people currently being stalked as they report to police and navigate the justice system, showing the daily impact on victims’ lives.
- Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise (2025): Her most talked-about recent series, released on BBC iPlayer from 8 September 2025.
Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise
The three-part series took McDermott to Bangkok, Pattaya, Ko Phangan and Phuket to ask why so many young Britons are drawn to Thailand, and what sits behind the postcard image — including the sex industry, cheap and fake alcohol, easily available cannabis, the Full Moon Party and cases of British tourists who died abroad.
Filming was difficult. At the launch she described a tense first night in Bangkok’s bar areas: the crew had permits in advance, she said, but police and bar owners pressured them to stop and delete footage, a crew member had an ashtray thrown towards them, and the team eventually had to leave. She described herself as petrified and said her research had not prepared her for what she saw in the sex industry.
The series also drew criticism. Some contributors and viewers argued it presented an inaccurate or overly negative picture of Thailand, and at least one featured influencer publicly apologised for taking part, saying he had not understood the programme’s focus. McDermott’s stated aim, in BBC interviews at launch, was to balance entertainment with harder questions about ethics, justice and consequences far from home. In those same September 2025 interviews she said she was already researching another destination documentary and wanted to make more programmes about violence against women.
Business and Other Work: Rise
Away from documentaries, McDermott launched her womenswear brand Rise with F&F Clothing on 28 March 2024, initially in more than 380 Tesco stores. The range covered everyday essentials, activewear and loungewear in sizes 6 to 22, with affordability and inclusivity central to the brand. A Rise Black Label collection followed with New Look in November 2024.
She is also listed as an ambassador for the Shaping Us campaign for the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, launched by the Princess of Wales.
She has not publicly disclosed her finances, so no net worth figure is presented here as fact. Estimates on celebrity aggregator sites are not verified by her and should be treated with caution.
Zara McDermott’s Relationships: What Is on the Public Record
Only relationships McDermott and her partners have confirmed publicly are covered here.
Adam Collard
McDermott and Adam Collard met on Love Island in 2018, dated for around eight months after the show and split in February 2019. She later spoke publicly about that relationship being damaging to her confidence.
Sam Thompson
She began dating Sam Thompson in May 2019, and their relationship featured on Made in Chelsea. They split briefly in 2020 after she admitted she had cheated during her time on The X Factor: Celebrity, then reconciled in late 2020. They lived together in London for much of their five-year relationship before separating again in December 2024.
Louis Tomlinson
In early 2025, McDermott began dating singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson, formerly of One Direction. They were first linked in March 2025 after being seen together in Suffolk, and made the relationship public in August 2025 with a social media post. Tomlinson later spoke about being in love on The Diary of a CEO podcast, in comments widely reported as referring to their relationship and his new music. As of the most recent reputable reporting for this profile, the relationship is ongoing.
What Is Zara McDermott Doing Now?
As of October 2026, McDermott is an established BBC documentary presenter whose stated next steps, from her September 2025 launch interviews, were researching another destination-led documentary and returning to subjects around violence against women. She is also a business founder through Rise, giving her a high-street fashion presence separate from television.
The contrast is the story of her career so far: the same fame that once made her a target for online abuse and intrusive coverage is now the platform she uses to make films about exactly those harms. Expect fewer reality formats and more authored documentaries — especially on young women, online safety and Britons abroad.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Zara McDermott?
Zara McDermott was born on 14 December 1996, so she is 29 years old and will turn 30 in December 2026. She was 21 when she entered Love Island in 2018.
What was Zara McDermott’s job before Love Island?
She worked as a policy advisor for the UK government, including for the Department for Education. It was that experience of policy and law-making that later informed her campaigning and documentary work.
What documentaries has Zara McDermott made for the BBC?
Her main BBC documentaries are Revenge Porn (2021), Uncovering Rape Culture (2021), Disordered Eating (2022), Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge (2023), The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok (2024), Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island (2024), To Catch a Stalker (2025) and Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise (2025).
Who is Zara McDermott dating?
She is in a publicly confirmed relationship with singer Louis Tomlinson. They were first linked in early 2025 and made the relationship public in August 2025. Before that, she was in a five-year relationship with Sam Thompson, which ended in December 2024.
What happened with Zara McDermott on Strictly Come Dancing?
She competed on Strictly series 21 in 2023 with Graziano Di Prima and was eliminated in week six. In July 2024, after Di Prima left the show, his spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that he had kicked her during a rehearsal and had apologised. McDermott said in her own statement that her experience in the training room had been very different from the rest of the show and that she had spoken candidly to the BBC.
