Zara McDermott is the face of a new reality dating show that is coming to BBC Three tonight (March 23). The former Love Island star spent 10 days in the villa back in 2018, but has shut down comparisons between the ITV show and the new BBC Three series.
The brand new dating show sees five couples who have been courting online meet in the flesh for the first time to spend a week together in a beautiful beach house in Greece. BBC Three's Love in the Flesh certainly promises to be interesting, as seeing how an online relationship translates to the real world will definitely provide some entertainment.
Dating shows that follow singles as they move into luxury homes near the sea have definitely become a sensation in recent years, take Love Island and Too Hot To Handle as examples. But Zara has insisted that the newest edition to this genre is nothing like its ITV counterpart. Speaking to Metro, Zara said: "It’s an entirely different show to what Love Island is.
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"The difference is with a show like Love Island, you don’t know who is going to couple up with who. Whereas with my show, everyone has spoken beforehand."
Zara has praised the show for 'exceeding expectations in every way'. The 25-year-old said: "It celebrated people from all ethnicities and backgrounds. We had a same-sex couple, bisexual contributors, and it works so seamlessly."
The reality star is in a relationship with Made in Chelsea's Sam Thompson - the couple began dating in May 2019, after Zara slid into Sam's DMs. Zara told Metro that, whilst she cannot relate to the complexities of online dating, she thinks 'everyone has to kiss a few frogs to find the prince'.
Zara said: "‘When we first started dating he wouldn’t text, he’s more of a phone call kind guy. He wouldn’t text me during the day, but at night, we’ll have a two-hour phone call."
Last year, Zara fronted a widely praised BBC Three documentary about revenge porn, which she then followed up with a special that explored rape culture. The Essex native, who was a government adviser prior to her time on Love Island, was attacked several years ago by a young man or boy who appeared to be wearing school uniform, before passers-by intervened.
Zara praised Sam for his support as she spoke openly about her experiences of sexual assault and revenge porn for the first time. She said: “He is literally the best person in the whole world. He is my best friend.
"He is always there to talk to me about anything and everything. I think that it’s really important in life that you find someone who you can be 100 per cent yourself around, and they accept you for every flaw and past experience – and he absolutely does that."
She added: “And I hope he can feel the same with me. We’ve both been through a lot in our lives.
“We’re not that old but we’ve still been through a lot, and it’s really important that I can speak to him, and he always makes me feel like I can. So, he’s super supportive and he’s always so happy to be involved in my films, as well, because sometimes it is really important to get a male perspective on something.”
Love in the Flesh airs tonight on BBC Three at 10pm.
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