She’s preparing for week two after making her Strictly Come Dancing debut last Saturday (September 23) – but Zara McDermott has revealed a stomach-churning injury ahead of the show.
The former Love Island star, 26, has been keeping fans updated as she and professional partner Graziano Di Prima hit rehearsals. And it looks like the gruelling schedule has taken a toll on her body.
Sharing a video on her Instagram Stories, Zara showed off a gruesome wound on her foot. “Half my toe has come off tbh,” she wrote alongside. She added: “I put this on my close friends but tbh I think the world needs to see this.”
In the clip, she laughed: “I just have to let you all know that like half of my toe has come off. That’s half my toe!”
Zara McDermott on her gruelling Strictly schedule
Zara and Graziano danced the cha cha cha to Crush by Jennifer Paige during the first live show. They scored 19 points for their performance.
Zara later revealed she had prepared for the routine by wearing men’s shoes with a small Cuban heel, something Graziano had suggested.
She told The Sun: “I told him: ‘It’s not working, I need to take them off,’ and he said: ‘No, no you’re fine.’ I said honestly it’s hurting and I took them off and my feet were bleeding. I was like: ‘I told you I am not being dramatic!’ My feet are feeling better this week, I feel like they’re getting harder now.”
This weekend, Zara and Graziano will be tackling the quickstep.
Zara’s mum speaks out
Zara’s mum Karen previously revealed how her daughter was putting in 10-hour days in rehearsals.
She told OK!: “I was obviously absolutely thrilled for her first of all, but having watched the show a fair bit through the years, and knowing the standard of the dancing, I was slightly worried because she has absolutely no dance experience whatsoever.
“So I was thrilled but at the same time thinking oh my goodness how is she going to step up.” Karen added: “It doesn’t feel natural so she’s having to put the extra work in, so she really isn’t doing anything else apart from rehearsing.”
Read more: Who’s the richest Strictly contestant of 2023? Net worths of all 15 celebrities ‘revealed’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, September 30 at 6.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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