Strictly’s Zara McDermott ‘overwhelmed’ with tears during tense moment on show

Overjoyed Zara McDermott shared footage of herself and pro partner Graziano di Prima embracing as they discovered they were through to the next round of Strictly Come Dancing . The 26-year-old had previously received a measly score of three out of ten and performed poorly on the leaderboard, piling the pressure on her to achieve more this time around. Tearful Zara admitted the results show had been a “magical moment” for her, earnestly declaring: “GRATEFUL doesn’t even cut it.” She continued in view of 1.8 million Instagram followers: “We are so humbled and overwhelmed that you guys voted for us. “I have honestly not felt that emotional in a long time, my tears definitely got the better of me… even though they were the happiest tears you’ve ever seen!” Strictly star Zara McDermott was overwhelmed as she discovered she was through to the next round (Image: BBC) The former Love Island contestant added in her caption: “We love each and every one of you so much and we could not be more over the moon to be able to dance for you all again next week.” Adding a tearful emoji, she concluded: “THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN from the bottom of our hearts!” After the pair tackled a Quickstep dance in time to ‘Anyone For You (Tiger Lily)’ by George Ezra, Craig Revel-Horwood had awarded them six out of ten – three points up from the week before. Their earlier routine – a samba alongside the classic track ‘Crush’ by Jennifer Paige – failed to impress the judges, leading to fears they could be eliminated from the competition early. At first, the results show was a tense waiting game for Zara McDermott and Graziano di Prima (Image: BBC) However, this week it was Les Dennis who was the first celebrity to leave, following his performance with Nancy Xu in time with ‘Rock The Boat’ by Hues Corporation. Narrowly avoiding the chop were Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez, who battled the pair in the dance-off with a Charleston performance to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).’ Meanwhile, Zara distanced herself from her Love Island past after becoming the first person ever to go from that show to Strictly , and insisted it isn’t representative of who she is now. “I don’t see myself as just a Love Island contestant – that’s something that I did when I was 21, but I’m 26 now,” she voiced to The Sun. Zara and Graziano embraced as they realised they wouldn’t be sent home (Image: BBC) Zara remains hopeful that she and Graziano could claim the Glitterball trophy by the end of the series. Other contestants on this year’s show include Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Emmerdale star Adam Thomas and Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington. Strictly Come Dancing: The Results airs tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.