Zara and Sam 'give it one more go'

As Zara McDermott navigates the Strictly drama with her pro partner being dropped from the show, a source says she and Sam Thompson are in the "last chance saloon"

- Kenzi Devine & Gemma McCartney

It’s been a week of turmoil for Zara McDermott after details of her shocking treatment during the last series of Strictly emerged. Her former professional dance partner Graziano Di Prima was swiftly dropped from the forthcoming series by the BBC amid allegations he “hit and kicked” Zara during training, while footage from their rehearsal room is said to have left those who have seen it “in tears”.

As the brutal reality of Zara’s time on the show unfolded, the reality star turned documentary maker has been battling to save her relationship with boyfriend of five years, Sam Thompson.

Last Thursday, Sam took to Instagram to express how proud he was of Zara, sharing an advert of his “missus” modelling for Look Fantastic on the London Underground. Captioning the snap, he wrote, “So proud of you goose @zaramcdermott.” Sam then told a commuter in his video that Zara was his “missus” adding in the caption, “Explaining to the dude I know her and I’m not weird.”

The couple have been dogged by split rumours since pictures of them rowing in the street and Sam, 31, appearing to cry at the TRIC Awards circulated last month. Reportedly, they have been holding “crisis talks” following a “blazing row” and last week they were pictured on a street near their Chelsea home looking tense.

Our source said it’s a last-ditch attempt to salvage the relationship for the former reality stars as they are said to be at “breaking point” after the recent “overwhelming” events.

“Things have been very up and down for Zara and Sam over the past few months and there have been points that they’ve thought about ending it,” our source said.