11 July 2023 , 08:38
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Strictly Come Dancing has reportedly signed up its first ever Love Island star with Zara McDermott set to appear in the upcoming series of the dance competition.
The BBC show has previously seen the likes of soap actors, sports stars and singers compete for the coveted Glitterball trophy.
Last year wildlife documentary host Hamza Yassin took the top prize, seeing off competition from actress Molly Rainford, Fleur East and Helen Skelton in the final.
This year the BBC will take a make a tweak to their strict reality star rules by inviting Love Island star and documentary maker Zara, 26, to compete.
It's said bosses believe that Zara will attract younger viewers to the flagship show and provide her with an opportunity to further her TV career.
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"Zara is the perfect signing for Strictly, not only is she beautiful and glamorous but she is hardworking and will take being on the show very seriously," a source claimed.
They added to MailOnline: "She's absolutely loved the experience of documentary making and is over the moon to further her relationship with the BBC by signing up to Strictly."
The star is in a relationship with Sam Thompson (@zara_mcdermott/Instagram)
She rose to fame on Love Island in 2018 (zara_mcdermott/Instagram)The BBC have previously held a strict policy with no reality stars on their show, breaking the tradition with Made in Chelsea's Jamie Laing in 2020.
The Strictly curse won't be a worry for her as she's been in a loving relationship with Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson since 2019.
She previously opened up about their relationship and how she doesn't feel pressured to take the next step.
Despite sharing glimpses into their relationship on social media, she explained how they no longer feel the pressures of their romance being played out for all to see.
Speaking to the Mirror, Zara said: "We have a very normal relationship, we just make funny videos and that's our thing we do for fun.
"I think we've been together too long now to feel any kind of pressure, I was thinking back to my relationships before Love Island, it's very different.
"Everything is private, nobody knows anything about what you're doing and all of a sudden, it's this weird paradox life where everything is online all the time but we both really enjoy it. So for us, there's no pressure at all."
She went on to explain that women are more than wives and mothers as she discussed the empowerment of women.
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"I think nowadays, we're in the 21st Century, we can be more than a wife and more than a mother," the reality star continued.
"I'm all about empowering women to be exactly who they want to be and not feeling any kind of pressure."