“I feel like there's just a level of understanding from every side that 'Strictly' is all-encompassing, and it has to be if you want to do well in the competition. You have to put the hours into training. You have to be really dedicated.”

English reality television personality

Zara Nicole McDermott is an English reality television personality. She first worked as a policy adviser at the Department for Education before moving into television, and she is known for appearing on Love Island in 2018. She later appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and on Made in Chelsea from 2019 to 2020. Her public profile is tied to reality television and to the transition from policy work into entertainment.