Zara McDermott

I've realised that my social media needs to be reflective of who I am.

BBC Three is built around the psyche of young people. We try to answer the questions that they have, entertain them in the way they want to be entertained, and educate them.

I've definitely experienced someone not being the person they've shown themselves to be online.

BBC Three was my absolute favourite channel growing up and I was so upset when it got taken off the TV. It was a massive part of my teenage years, and I feel privileged to be involved in its return.

I feel honoured to be making my third documentary with BBC Three and bringing visibility to this complex subject. The stats regarding eating disorders are shocking and I'm keen to explore reasons behind the rise.

When you're entering a show where all eyes are going to be on you parading around in a bikini body, there is a lot of pressure.

I can't believe people are so abusive about my weight, or anyone's. I feel like people in the limelight can't do right from wrong. If they're seen as fat, they're told to diet, or too skinny and they're told to eat a pizza.

I don't want to sit back and let people abuse me online. For me to call someone out and say they are body-shaming - I hope it makes that person look like an absolute tool.

I've learned not to post what I eat in a day. Giving people the opportunity to emulate a day in your life, the calories you're eating, and giving them precise measurements is extremely damaging.

I was told so many times I was fat and there's a finite amount of times you can hear that before you actually start to believe it.

I went from being an innocent 21-year-old who never looked in the mirror or over-analysed my body to thinking, 'Should I start viewing myself differently because other people are?'

There are so many influencers out there and I'm just a drop in the ocean but we all have a shared duty to be responsible.

I'm not defined by the workouts I do or the food I eat. I don't want to feed into that culture any more.

There is such a demand for easy access to good content, and it is important that BBC Three is back on our screens.

Now I look back at my Instagram page from a few years ago and I'm cringing a bit because I really used to do ab checks. How embarrassing!

Eating disorders can be extremely isolating, they can tear you away from your family and your friends and make you feel really ashamed of what you're going through.

Before you go into something like like 'Love Island,' with no previous TV experience, you are blind to the power of the edit.

Even the smallest comment can hurt in the worst way. I don't think people realise that.

The public can be brutal, even though we are plagued with messages about stopping online abuse, it's scary how much of it still exists.

If you asked me what the worst part of my eviction from the 'Love Island' villa was, I would tell you this: that it wasn't down to a public vote that I was forced to leave; that, rather, it was down to my fellow Islanders, the people who I was sharing a home and experience with.

Many influencers, especially those that are new to it, believe it's not a long-term career. And so, they just try to make as much cash as possible while they have the followers.

I know that young women follow me, some of them are still at school and I keep that in mind.

I would never promote anything diet related. There will be no meal replacement shakes or anything that might make one of my followers buy something that I don't believe in.

When you first come out of 'Love Island' villa, you're hot property for advertisers.

I always wear Victoria's Secret Romantic Fragrance Mist. I put it on after the shower, so the smell always makes me feel clean.

I look back at my social media, especially 'On A Day With Zara' a few years ago, and I'm like, 'Oh my god, I was posting constant body checks!' I was younger and thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

Make-up is about expressing yourself and sometimes, for me at least, that means not wearing any at all, even when you feel under pressure to.

Life is about being an individual and being yourself.

I was always real tomboy when I was younger. I was the least girly girl ever!

Black eyeliner, that's my first memory of make-up. I used black kohl pencil, just a tiny bit on my lower lash line. My mum always used to wear it so I was copying her. I was about 10 years old when I started trying the look out at home. That was my first taste of make-up, a tiny bit of black eyeliner.

To be honest, I only wear makeup if there is a reason to.

I usually just find a lip liner that I like, fill my lips in with that shade and then put some lip balm over the top.

I have medium length lashes and this mascara makes them look super long.

What's interesting is every TV show is shot differently. For example 'Love Island' cameras weren't very forgiving makeup wise, so I felt like heavier makeup didn't look very good. However on 'Made In Chelsea' it's shot in a different way, with different cameras and they put lovely colour grading on, so everyone's skin looks super glowy.

Making a documentary on an issue that is not the easiest to have those conversations with people around you is something that I want to continue to do, because we start to break those stigmas and break down those walls.

We all have a responsibility to post the most responsible content we possibly can.

One thing I've learned is thinking about when you're posting, who you're posting for and what you're posting. You go through that little mental checklist in your head, and you think, 'Right, am I posting this for myself because I want validation? If I'm doing that, is that really the right thing to post?'

People Photoshop their pictures all the time to show their best selves, but I wouldn't dare.

I think that no one should be limited to only doing one genre of TV.

I always use a heat protection spray that has argan oil or keratin in. My mum always told me to look after my hair and use heat protection. For a long time I didn't listen to her and now I wish I had because I do have some damage.

Hair is a huge passion of mine so I love experimenting with different produts and curling styles.

I over-styled my hair when I came out of 'Love Island' and curled it pretty much every day for a year.

I only used to feel confident wearing my hair curly. I used to wear really long hair extensions too so it was a mammoth task to curl it all.

I always live by the statement 'everything is what you make it.' There will always be difficult situations that occur in life but you have a choice, you can make the best of a situation or you can just roll over and let it defeat you.

I love the song 'Potential' by Alt Bloom.

I love using resistance bands and ankle weights.

As the 'Instagram effect' makes Ibiza the place to be seen for more and more young Brits I'm keen to explore how the island operates and deals with the challenges this poses.

I am so excited to be joining the world of 'Strictly!' I grew up watching it every year with my nan and she was the biggest 'Strictly' fan. We would dance around the house and I have such fond memories of that time in my life. I even remember the first ever series, and being mesmerised by all the beautiful dresses!

I think a lot of us with social media followings have triggered someone in some way at some point so it's really important for me to take accountability.