Zara McDermott hosted a BBC documentary premiere about disordered eating. She has worked as a policy advisor and appeared on reality shows like Love Island and Made in Chelsea. The documentary taught that eating disorders affect people of all weights and that social media trolls target those who appear on reality shows. Zara said her Love Island experience brought her highs and lows but she wouldn't be where she is without it. One of Zara's team members noted the importance of watching television to discuss shows for working in the industry.

1. Networking Experience (complete one for each event and upload to your blog in the suitable post)
BBC - Zara McDermott – Disordered Eating Documentary (Premiere)
Zara McDermott and her team
Zara Nicole McDermott (born 14 December 1996) is an English media personality. After working
for the Department for Education as a policy advisor, she became a contestant on the fourth
series of Love Island. She has since appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity and Made in Chelsea and
has gone on to present her own BBC documentaries, Revenge Porn, Uncovering Rape Culture and
Disordered Eating based on her own experiences. In 2022, she began presenting the dating series
Love in the Flesh on BBC Three.
I learned more about eating disorders, and that most people who have an eating disorder are not
underweight. I also learned more about what happens after people like Zara leave the Love Island
villa. They number of trolls that are exposed to your page is unreal.
After hearing about the trolls, I even asked Zara on whether she regretted going on Love Island.
She responded with “No, my time in the villa was great and the experience brought me some of
my highest highs and lowest lows, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without those
experiences”. It was interesting to hear her perspective of the situation.
The documentary further proved my point about how ruthless the media industry is, and that
many people aren’t mentally strong enough to deal with the abuse you might receive. I think it’s
important to realise that these problems impact normal everyday people, and I think people
spend too much time scrolling through TikTok and Instagram.
After the documentary, One of Zara’s team members made a good point about working in
television. He told everyone “In order to work in television you need to watch it, you need to be
able to tell the interviewer what you watched last night, your favourite program, your least
favourite program and why you dislike it”. I think it was helpful to hear that because a lot of
people don’t watch TV anymore, so therefore may struggle to get in the industry.
I thought the premiere was helpful and taught me a lot about eating disorders and the effects of
social media.