Zara McDermott reveals terrifying moment she almost got arrested filming new BBC documentary
Zara McDermott has spoken about the 'scary' moment she almost got arrested while filming a documentary for the BBC.
The ex Love Island star, 28, who was once threatened by masked men during a shopping trip in London, presents new doc Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise.
From reality show appearances on the likes of The X Factor: Celebrity and Made in Chelsea, she has transitioned into presenting thought-provoking programmes like Revenge Porn and Uncovering Rape Culture.
Her most recent show, however, includes a number of tense moments with Bangkok police.
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Even though the BBC crew had permission to film in the local bars, Zara said they were almost 'losing what we were there to do' within hours of arriving.
"The whole sequence gets cut down. But that was over the span of a few hours of filming there, the tensions were starting to increase with the police," she told press, as reported by the Mail.
"We nearly got arrested because of the filming that we were doing, but, the interesting thing about that is that we'd got all the permissions in advance. We'd been OK to film there.
"And the bar owners were definitely, definitely kind of trying to throw their weight around a bit, and wanted us to get out of the area completely."
In the documentary, one crew member had an ashtray thrown at them.
"In the end, the bar owners kind of, you know, they won in that sense, and we had to leave," she added.
That moment almost lead to the group 'potentially being arrested', and the mission of exploring the darker side of the country was at risk.
Thankfully, they were able to bypass any issues and Zara's presenting experience, instead, allowed her to have 'some difficult and emotional conversations with sex workers'.
"My aim is for these women to feel completely seen and heard, because I truly believe that sharing our stories helps give us women power," she added to the BBC.
"I have a huge amount of empathy for the women who are pressured to work in such an unpredictable and at times unsafe industry."
The reality star also noted that she was 'excited to discover a country that so many young people like me are heading to right now'.
"There's clearly a fascination with the nightlife, parties and stunning beaches - but there seems to be other intriguing reasons people are going to Thailand and staying," Zara said.
Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise will be available on BBC iPlayer from 8 September.
Anish Vij