Strictly's Zara McDermott addresses "previous dance experience" in hilarious new video

Sara Baalla

26 September 2023 at 12:17 pm·2-min read

zara mcdermott in a cream satin dress smiling for the camera — Strictly's Zara shares hilarious training videoKarwai Tang - Getty Images

Strictly Come Dancing's Zara McDermott has addressed the question of whether she has "previous dance experience" in a hilarious new training room video with her professional partner Graziano Di Prima.

In a light-hearted reel on Instagram, Zara dances enthusiastically to Dua Lipa's Barbie anthem 'Dance The Night', while a shocked Graziano looks on jokingly in disgust and shakes his head, as the camera slowly zooms in on his face.

"Yes I am a trained professional tik tok dancer actually," Zara joked in the comments.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zara McDermott (@zara_mcdermott)

Graziano's wife Giada Lini, who's a professional dancer on Strictly's Italian counterpart Ballando con le stelle, wrote: "You make me laugh so bad!! But I know you are working and training like a machine so… you will be amazing Saturday."

"Everyone starts somewhere!" added former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips.

Zara and Graziano started their Strictly campaign on Saturday night with a cha-cha-cha, that scored 19 points from the judges.

"For the most part, you did a grand job," said head judge Shirley Ballas of Zara's first performance. "So looking forward to your journey."

strictly come dancing 2023, zara mcdermott and graziano di prima perform on week 1 — Guy Levy - BBC

Zara's fun training session comes after she revealed how proud she was of completing her first dance in the Strictly ballroom.

"My mouth was so dry, I could barely talk after," she explained.

For week two, it's a completely different style of dance for Zara, as she will perform her first ballroom dance with the Quickstep to George Ezra's 'Anyone For You (Tiger Lily)'.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday nights on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights from September 25 on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Tickets for Strictly's 2024 live arena tour are available now.

Interested in talking about Strictly Come Dancing? Visit our dedicated sub-forum

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