Earlier this year, Zara McDermott went to Thailand with the goal of creating a balanced documentary. She wanted to show both the beautiful, popular side of the country – its beaches – and the darker side involving drugs and the sex trade.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, 28, was surprised by the backlash following her recent three-part BBC series. The show sees Zara travel to Bangkok and Pattaya, where she speaks to sex workers and describes Thailand as a budget-friendly, lively destination with many women – comparing it to the Spanish resort of Benidorm, but on a larger scale.
People in the area have strongly criticized the show, calling it both disturbing and dishonest. Those who participated say it was filled with falsehoods and that events were faked for the cameras. There are also concerns that the program could seriously harm the country’s important tourism sector.
According to a source close to the show, the BBC, not Zara, is responsible for the issue. The insider explained that Zara already works hard to highlight important issues for young women and would likely be frustrated to be caught in a dispute between the show’s participants and the BBC.
Since appearing on the dating show Love Island in 2018, Zara has transformed her career. She’s moved away from being an influencer known for her appearance and is now a respected filmmaker. Over the past six years, she’s created well-received documentaries focusing on important issues affecting women, including revenge porn, rape culture, and the tragic death of Gaia Pope-Sutherland.
She’s been open about her struggles, including experiences during her time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 with partner Graziano Di Prima. She shared that some upsetting things happened during training, and video footage confirmed Di Prima accidentally kicked her while they were rehearsing.
In Thailand, Zara aimed to highlight the exploitation of sex workers by tourists, some of whom reportedly pay as little as £23 for sex. However, the project has faced significant problems, with several people involved claiming they were misled, after critics argued Zara only focused on negative aspects of the issue.
The strongest accusations are coming from two British YouTubers living in Thailand, who allege that the BBC hid what the film was really about.
A man known online as ‘Mac TV’ claims he was misled while showing representatives from Zara around Pattaya, a city where he’s lived for two years. He thought he’d be discussing what it’s like to be a foreign content creator, but now believes the final video was heavily edited to support the show’s desired message.
Since the show aired, Mac has strongly criticized the BBC. His videos, which have gained over 1.5 million views, claim that producers wrote questions for Zara and manipulated his voice to put words in his mouth.
Speaking from his home in Thailand, he stated he plans to reveal the full story of what occurred and clarify the misinformation that was spread.
I remember speaking with the BBC around eight months ago, and they pitched this documentary as being about content creators in Thailand and the reasons behind its growing popularity. Honestly, that’s completely misleading. It’s not that at all, and it felt like a real misrepresentation from the start.
He claims he gave producers a list of off-limits topics, but they asked him about those very things during filming.
He explained that the producers completely disregarded his requests and continued to ask him questions he’d specifically asked them to avoid.
The producers were completely controlling the interview with Zara, feeding her every question. Zara didn’t ask anything that hadn’t been given to her by them – the whole thing was pre-planned and scripted.
‘She hasn’t got any opinion on what to say, she gets told what to say about everything.’
The documentary shows Mac and Zara walking down a busy street where many people believed to be sex workers were present. Suddenly, police officers who seemed wary asked them to stop filming and leave the area.
The YouTube personality claimed this was another fabricated story by the show’s producers, stating the scene was completely staged. They said producers even asked them to walk back up the street so they could capture a specific shot of the money.
He then expressed sympathy for Zara, claiming she was simply a spokesperson for the company, paid to promote progressive viewpoints.
He explained that she’s overwhelmed with many demands, constantly being told what to say, and unable to express her own thoughts – everything she says is controlled by the show’s producers.
The BBC has responded to claims, stating that they did not misrepresent the contributor or create any false footage. A spokesperson told the Daily Mail they strongly deny these suggestions.
Before taking part, he received a thorough explanation, gave his complete consent, and clearly understood what he would be contributing and the overall purpose of the project.
Following claims that Zara McDermott received questions in advance, a spokesperson stated that Zara has created and presented several documentaries for BBC Three over the last five years, focusing on important issues that resonate with her viewers. She always works with a skilled production crew during filming.
The Daily Mail has reviewed the official report, which indicates Zara traveled to Thailand to explore both the positive and negative aspects of the situation.
But now others have chimed in with their experiences behind the scenes.
Mike Yu, a 29-year-old who used to work in film production in London, now creates videos about the luxurious lifestyle in Bangkok. He says he was also misled after leaving a job that paid £900 per month in the UK, and now claims to be earning £10,000 a month in Thailand. He thought he was helping to create a positive story when the BBC filmed him showing Zara around a fancy hotel.
Last week, Mike addressed his followers from his bedroom, saying he wanted to discuss the recent BBC documentary about Thailand.
During the interview, they focused on the positive aspects of Thailand and how my life improved after moving there.
He expressed his frustration and disappointment, claiming producers were deliberately focusing on negative aspects of Thailand and hadn’t bothered to interview local people.
‘Everything was strange,’ he said. ‘I want to say, don’t believe the BBC, all of it was rubbish.’
Another expat, Kent-born Dave – known online as ThaiTok – shared a similar experience.
He shared with his followers that he consistently creates upbeat videos showcasing Thai cuisine, traditions, and its people. He also stated that if he’d known the documentary would be titled ‘The Dark Side of Paradise,’ he wouldn’t have participated.
He shared that during his interviews, he emphasized the wonderful food, culture, and opportunities available, but above all, how incredible the Thai people are.
Nothing was included, and I completely understand why others involved in the documentary might feel their interviews were altered or misrepresented.
Across TikTok and other social media, a large number of people have been publicly criticizing not only the BBC, but also Zara, who is currently in a relationship with Louis Tomlinson of One Direction.
A British man in Thailand criticized the BBC, saying they had paid someone from the reality show *Love Island* – someone he felt was uninformed – to come to Thailand and say things that weren’t very sensible.
One person commented that Zara McDermott is known for appearing on Love Island, not for travel reporting, and criticized the BBC as a result.
Zara has worked hard to move past her time on reality TV, and this new controversy could ruin all of that effort.
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2025-09-22 19:22