Zara McDermott reflects on ‘how far she’s come’ as she posts emotional video from her Strictly Come Dancing journey with Graziano Di Prima
Zara McDermott proudly shared a video of her Strictly Come Dancing journey so far, after her first live performance at the Cha Cha Cha on Saturday.
The former Love Islander, 26, has been busy in recent months rehearsing for the live shows with her partner Graziano Di Prima, 29.
And after scoring 19 points, Zara took to Instagram to document her Strictly process so far with clips and photos of her and Graziano dancing.
She wrote, “How it started… versus how it went. I watch this video and realize how far I have come from day 1.
‘I’ve never danced for anyone in my entire life (no exaggeration!), walked into that studio a few weeks ago with less than zero dance experience and no self-confidence at all, using a broomstick as a tool to help me… which I did last night have done.
How it started: Zara McDermott proudly shared a video of her Strictly Come Dancing journey so far, after her first live performance at the Cha Cha Cha on Saturday
How it went down: The former Love Islander, 26, has been busy in recent months rehearsing for the live shows with her partner Graziano Di Prima, 29
‘I’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of myself for trying my hardest, for going out there even though I know I have so much work to do, and for being the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life.
‘My mouth was so dry that I could hardly speak afterwards, thank you again for all your kind messages.
“I appreciate you all and I will continue to push myself week after week to get better.”
Former Islanders and Strictly stars congratulated Zara in the comments and praised her performance.
Love Island’s Chloe Burrows wrote: ‘SMASHED IT GIRL!!!!!!!!!’.
Former Strictly star and YouTuber Saffron Barker wrote: ‘Yesssss’.
Made In Chelsea’s Tiffany Watson said: ‘So amazing!!’, while fitness fanatic Courtney Black wrote: ‘Smashed it’.
Zara was supported from the sidelines by boyfriend Sam Thompson, 31, and his pal and former TOWIE star Pete Wicks, 35, who both wore quirky shirts featuring her face.
Reflective: And after scoring 19 points, Zara took to Instagram to document her Strictly process so far with clips and photos of her and Graziano dancing
Supportive: Former Islanders and Strictly stars congratulated Zara in the comments and praised her performance
It comes after Zara McDermott admitted years of trolling have left her feeling insecure.
The influencer shot to fame at the age of 21 in the 2018 series of reality show Love Island, where he was filmed for days wearing skimpy swimwear as he flirted with other singletons.
In a new interview, Zara has explained how she plans to ‘channel Love Island’s confident bikini babe’ when she’s on Strictly.
She confessed she ‘never had those feelings of lack of self-confidence’ while in the Love Island villa, but struggled in the aftermath with people commenting on the way she looks.
Zara also admitted that she makes little effort to change the voice in her head from a disturbing one to a confident, reassuring one.
Zara told The sun: ‘I’m fighting for this – so I’ll be channeling Love Island’s confident bikini babe when I’m on the Strictly dance floor.
“I’m trying to live my 21-year-old, carefree attitude and channel the inner confidence that I think is key for this show.
“Being 100 percent in this industry, all of a sudden a lot of people are commenting on how you look and things like that.”
‘When I was on Love Island I didn’t think about wearing a bikini in front of the whole country, I was 21 and at that age you just do it. I never had that feeling of distrust then.’
She also added that her boyfriend, Made In Chelsea star Sam, was ‘amazing’ during her Strictly training.