27 September 2023 , 12:11
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Zara McDermott has shared a photo of her nasty injuries from Strictly Come Da ncing rehearsals, which she claims are lasting up to '10 hours a day'.
The 26-year-old took to Instagram on Tuesday to give her followers a raw glimpse into the physical strain of nailing choreography, as she gears up for the second live show of the BBC dance competition on Saturday with pro partner Graziano Di Prima.
In the stomach-churning video, the reality TV star shows how her big toe's skin has been ripped off from all the dancing. She initially planned on only sharing her physical ailment with her close friends, but revealed that her gristly wounds was something "the world needs to see."
"I just want to let you all know that half my toe has come off," she tells her 1.8 million followers, before bursting into laughter at her plastered foot. The painful scab comes ahead of Zara's highly-anticipated second live show, which will see her perform the ballroom classic dance of the Quickstep to Anyone For You (Tiger Lily) by George Ezra.
Zara revealed 'half my toe has come off' in Strictly rehearsals
Zara has revealed she's been rehearsing for up to 10 hours a day (Zara McDermott Instagram)In another post to her Stories, Zara compared the routine to "doing cardio for 10 hours a day." She's also seen asking Graziano, 29, to take five from training, to which he replies, "This is your break."
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Zara has previously admitted she's entered the the competition with little experience, joking that her dance background comes solely from doing short routines on TikTok. "I think I’m probably the most nervous I’ve been in my life," she told the Sun ahead of the premiere earlier this month.
Zara has also made history as the first Strictly Come Dancing contestant to have appeared on Love Island. Despite being dumped from the villa alongside Eyal Booker on Day 10, the former education policy advisor has enjoyed a number of successes in showbiz since leaving the show.
"It was a really proud moment for me," she said, in reference to being called to do the glitzy dance series. "That feeling of being the first-ever Love Islander to do Strictly. I wasn’t in the show for very long, and I feel like my career has definitely moved on. Going on Strictly has made me realise how far I’ve come from those days in Love Island."
Zara admitted she was "shocked" and "gutted" by her early axing, which was made all the more difficult by feelings of low-esteem following the show's airing. She also confessed that she felt "inferior" to other past Love Island contestants who had landed "fashion deals" from her series, having expected to go a lot further in the competition.
She has since landed roles on Made in Chelsea and the celebrity spin-off of The X Factor, as well as hosting gigs on a number of BBC documentaries.