From advising ministers in Whitehall to TV’s tackiest show, it’s Love Island’s new arrival
IT already boasts a doctor and a solicitor among the usual array of models and scantily clad social media stars.
And now a government policy adviser has become the latest unlikely contestant to move into the Love Island villa.
Zara McDermott, 21, claims to have worked at the Department for Education for the past eight months.
Before this, she was employed as an operational officer at the then Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Her LinkedIn business profile says this role involved ‘dealing with parliamentary questions, briefings for ministers, and correspondence cases’.
Miss McDermott entered the ITV2 reality show last night and introduced herself to the men of the house wearing a lace bodice and short skirt – but claims to beauty. Majorca, have brains Before Miss McDermott to arriving match her in – who her adviser also models role and alongside regularly posts racy social media pictures – acknowledged she was not the typical Love Island contestant. Given some of the girls were seen in a previous episode admitting they did not know what Brexit is, Miss McDermott’s government experience could prove illuminating.
She said: ‘I think my job is quite different. A lot of people are interested in what I do on a day-to-day basis.
‘There are two sides to me – I can be quite serious but I’m also spontaneous, fun and energetic.’ Asked what her best attributes were, she said: ‘ I’m intelligent, which at always reading means analysing I’m people. quite people.’ good I’m Miss McDermott, from Essex, follows other professionals joining the show this year, including A&E doctor Alex George, 27, and solicitor Rosie Williams, 26. George, from Carmarthen, West Wales, said despite ‘absolutely loving’ his job, he would consider becoming a TV doctor when he leaves the show.
Love Island, which first aired in 2015, won a surprise following among the middle classes last year as millions became hooked on the trials and tribulations of the singletons in skimpy swimwear.
It’s even proved a hit among politicians, with Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Lucy Powell both tweeting about the show in recent days.
The eight- week series, which airs every evening except Saturday, follows young men and women who have to couple up to stay in the competition and win a cash prize of £50,000 – with cameras filming their bedroom antics. In the last series, 12 people were filmed having sex – four couples in one episode alone.
A Department for Education spokesman declined to comment on Miss McDermott’s appearance.
‘My job is quite different’