Zara McDermott goes makeup-free to Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals in shorts and slippers ahead of first dance with Graziano Di Prima

After the pomp and circumstance came the hard work as Zara McDermott prepared for another round of grueling Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals on Tuesday.

The former Love Island competition, 26, made her ballroom debut at Elstree Studios this weekend, teaming up with Italian hunk Graziano Di Prima for the twenty-first series of the returning BBC show.

But when she arrived at a local dance studio, the happy rags were swapped for form-fitting shorts and the heels were replaced with comfy UGG slippers.

The TV personality completed her relaxed look with a black gym vest and appeared to go makeup-free ahead of her latest rehearsal session.

With a water bottle in hand, Zara was ready for a long day in the studio ahead of Saturday night’s show, when the competition kicks off and voting begins.

Casual: The happy rags were traded in for form-fitting shorts and the heels were ditched in favor of comfy UGG slippers when she arrived at a local dance studio

Let’s do it: With water bottle in hand, Zara was ready for a long day in the studio ahead of Saturday night’s show, when the competition kicks off and voting begins

Fans were quick to hail Zara and her professional partner Graziano, 29, ‘the hottest pairing ever’ as the pair were revealed for the first time.

Viewers joked that the Love Island star’s boyfriend Sam Thompson must be ‘sweating at home’ as they praised the ‘absolute fire’ partnership.

Zara and Graziano will dance the Cha Cha Cha for their first performance, and the TV personality admitted her nerves were already getting the better of her.

‘I think I’m probably the most nervous in my life. “I’m not a born artist, I’m not an extrovert, so this is the biggest challenge of my life,” she said during Saturday night’s launch show.

Graziano added, “It’s going to be exotic, Latin and is the Cha Cha Cha treasure.”

One fan shared their thoughts on Twitter: ‘Zara and Graziano look beautiful together. I fully support them.’

‘Zara and Graziano might be the most popular duo ever?! good lord,” another agreed.

A third echoed: “Zara and Graz can be absolute fire!”

Wonderful: the TV personality was seen wearing an elegant silk dress into the studio

Incoming: Fellow contestant Angela Scanlon was also spotted heading to Strictly rehearsals in London on Tuesday

Join in: Amanda Abbingdon carried a bag to rehearsals as she prepared for her first dance on the BBC show

Leading the way: Professional dancer Giovanni Pernice greeted onlookers as he entered a local dance studio on Tuesday

Someone else joked: ‘I know Sam Thompson is currently at home crying watching Zara and Graziano.’

While other viewers wrote: ‘I bet Sam Thompson is sweating now that Zara has partnered up with gritz’ and ‘Zara’s boyfriend is crying in the green room right now.’

On Friday, Zara appeared on Lorraine to discuss the show, dropping a small detail about her partner.

The Love Island star chatted to the TV legend, 63, about her training and asked about her partnership on the upcoming show.

She said: ‘He’s amazing, he’s so nice. Training is harder than I thought it would be. It’s arms, legs and feet, you have to put all these things together in my head at once, but it’s an amazing experience.’

Zara made history by becoming the first former Love Island contestant to win a place on Strictly, but insisted she won’t be drawing inspiration from her former castmates when the show gets underway.

The TV personality rose to fame after appearing on the ITV2 dating show in 2018, in which her romance with villa lothario Adam Collard became one of the more dominant storylines.

She has since re-established herself as a BBC documentary maker, with hard-hitting revelations about revenge porn, rape culture and eating disorders, earning her a new army of fans – and a nomination for Authored Documentary at the National Television Awards.