Zara McDermott says Strictly has been 'baptism of fire' as she battles sore feet
The TV star said the training is tougher than she thought it would be
Zara McDermott has said her Strictly training has been “a baptism of fire” and that her feet are “in a bad way”.
The Love Island star is one of the contestants on the upcoming series of the BBC ballroom show and said she was already feeling it a bit ahead of the series launch.
Appearing on ITV’s Lorraine, McDermott said: “The training is tougher than I thought it would be.
Read more: Bobby Brazier confesses he's never watched Strictly so is 'coming in fresh'
“It’s all about the technicalities, it’s the arms, the legs, the feet, all those things that you have to put together in your brain all at once.
“But it’s an amazing experience.”
She admitted her feet were sore, but insisted: “You have just got to power through!”
The TV star – who was on the fourth series of Love Island – has been said to be one of the favourites going into the contest.
But she told host Lorraine Kelly that she’s actually pretty “wooden”.
Laughing, she confessed she was “that girl that doesn’t even dance in a nightclub”.
“This is like, a baptism of fire for me!” joked the 26-year-old.
McDermott already knows who her pro partner will be on the contest but wouldn’t spill the beans, just teasing that he was "amazing".
Other stars taking part in the new series of Strictly include Angela Rippon, Les Dennis, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Jody Cundy, Nigel Harman, Eddie Kadi, Nikita Kanda and Amanda Abbington.
Jade Goody’s son Bobby Brazier has also signed up, along with Adam Thomas, Layton Williams, Annabel Croft, Ellie Leach, Zara McDermott and Angela Scanlon.
Read more: Zara McDermott says she battles 'inner her' to be confident and outspoken on screen
The launch show is on Saturday 16 September and the live shows start the following week, on Saturday 23 September.
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