A ‘heartbroken’ Zara McDermott fought back tears when she heard the harrowing account of a woman’s stalking at the hands of her ex in a new documentary.
The first episode of the former Love Island star’s latest project, To Catch A Stalker, airs on BBC Three on Tuesday evening at 9pm.
It sees Zara, 28, join and support victims who have been subjected to domestic abuse and stalking and expose how stalking brutally impacts the everyday lives of people across the UK.
She will also follow the journey of those who decided to report the instances to the police and how the claims make their way through the judicial system.
Both instalments are already available to stream on BBC iPlayer and are packed with sobering accounts.
The second episode sees Zara sit down with an anonymous woman who recounted how her ex-partner stalked her after she ended the relationship.
A ‘heartbroken’ Zara McDermott (pictured) fought back tears when she heard the harrowing account of a woman’s stalking at the hands of her ex in a new documentary
The first episode of the former Love Island star’s latest project, To Catch A Stalker, airs on BBC Three on Tuesday evening at 9pm
It will see Zara, 28, join and support victims who have been subjected to domestic abuse and stalking and expose how stalking brutally impacts the everyday lives of people across the UK
She recalled how at the start he was ‘very charming, caring, I didn’t even imagine there was another side to him’.
However, he would make her video call him ’24 hours a day, every day, morning until night’.
When the woman ended the relationship things took a terrifying turn.
‘The continuous harassment, being outside of my house every other day, he would cry his eyes out and make me feel bad,’ she recalled.
Zara asked: ‘Was he calling you and texting you?’
‘He would call me more than 500 times a day and I would literally chuck my phone in some corner of my house,’ the woman replied.
She appeared to get emotional as she described how ‘he made me hate myself for being in that situation’.
The woman gestured a line across her neck with her hands as she recalled what he would do outside of her house, seeming to infer he was saying he would harm her.
‘He didn’t leave outside of my house for another five, six hours. I was terrified,’ she added.
Zara commented: ‘That breaks my heart, hearing that.’
The second episode sees Zara sit down with an anonymous woman who recounted how her ex-partner stalked her after she ended the relationship
‘The continuous harassment, being outside of my house every other day, he would cry his eyes out and make me feel bad,’ she recalled
‘He didn’t leave outside of my house for another five, six hours. I was terrified,’ she added. Zara commented: ‘That breaks my heart, hearing that.’
The woman submitted video, calls and text messages to the police and revealed she would be giving a witness statement at court against him.
Zara asked the woman, ‘How are you feeling through this?’
‘Like I’m rubbish,’ she replied, as Zara held her hand.
The reality star looked tearful as she continued to listen to the woman and said: ‘You did not deserve any of that, you know that?’
The star has spoken about several important topics including revenge porn, sexism, and ‘rape culture’ in UK schools as well as the rise of young people experiencing eating disorders.
But, after wrapping up filming for the stalking documentary in March, Zara admitted it had been one of her ‘most emotional’ yet, as she praised the brave women who appeared in the programme and voiced her hope that it would open up conversations.
Sharing Instagram snaps of herself filming outside a police station, she wrote: ‘It’s our final week of filming for my documentary about stalking, and honestly it’s been one of the most eye opening, emotional films I’ve ever made.
Zara has brought a range of thought-provoking and critically acclaimed documentaries to the BBC over the last few years
‘I’ve learnt so much about the strength of victims / survivors through this process… some of these women are the strongest I’ve ever met.
‘Stalking is one of the most isolating crimes out there. The pure determination of the women I’ve spoken to, to continually put one foot in front of the other every single day, is nothing short of inspirational.’
She went on: ‘I am so grateful to do the job that I do; to be able to hopefully make a difference in this world and make some positive change alongside the incredible people I am working with. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
‘This documentary series has been 18 months in the making, from development to where we are now. It’s been a long process of finding a careful balance because of the sensitivity of this programme, but I hope it opens up conversations at home, in schools and in society. ❤️’
To Catch A Stalker airs on BBC Three on July 1 at 9pm and is available to stream on iPlayer.
