Former Love Island star Zara McDermott has sparked outrage in Thailand with her latest BBC documentary as she draws attention to the dark side of tourism in the country
Zara McDermott has sparked fury from locals in Thailand after she called the country “Benidorm on steroids.” The former Love Island star has been accused of making a mockery of the tourist hotspot in her new documentary – Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise – where she draws attention to the seedy underbelly of the travel destination.
The series sees Zara, 28, visit Bangkok and Pattaya as she highlights some of the complex issues the country faces – such as the availability of drugs and prostitution. However, some residents have hit back accusing the show of being one-sided.
Zara says in her documentary that Thailand is “Benidorm on steroids: cheap, cheerful, full of women,” but locals have countered that it is a “welcoming and warm country.” One resident of the famous Khaosan Road in Bangkok said, “I have talked to my clients from around the world many of them, of course some are English, told me here is safer than in their own countries.”
Souvenir shop owner Cletana Thangworachai continued to the Daily Mail, “The documentary is unfair. It could make a negative image about safety here in Thailand and it could shake the confidence of foreign tourists. I think what they report was not true particularly about the safety here. I regularly walk at night alone leaving it very late night or very early morning not only in Bangkok but also in the rural area. I think those who made this story just wanted to boost their engagement.”
Another local, Anutr Tosirikul, 53, claimed the documentary could have a negative influence on Thailand’s tourism industry. He said, “What troubles me is that it seems she already had a predetermined outcome in mind.
“The story appears to have been presented from only one side, which I believe is unfair to Thailand. This isn’t the kind of approach we expect from journalists, and I think it undermines the credibility of the BBC.”
The documentary refers to Thailand as the “sex capital of Asia,” and shows young British soliciting sex with prostitutes costing “as little as £23.”
Zara says in the show, “It feels like some young Brits are behaving in Thailand in a way that they would never behave in the UK. They can come over and live by an entirely different set of rules, and they quite like it.”
Just days prior to the backlash a YouTuber who appears in the documentary claimed it was “full of lies” and “false scenes” that were staged.
The man, who runs channel Mac TV Travel Learn Inspire, shows her around the red-light district in Pattaya, but since claimed producers “edited” his dialogue and “dramatised everything.”
The BBC told Daily Mail, “We refute any suggestion that this contributor was misrepresented and that any sequences were fabricated. He was fully briefed before participating, fully consented and understood the nature of his contribution and the series as a whole.”
They added, ” Zara McDermott has explored a range of sensitive issues in multiple documentaries for BBC Three over the past five years.”
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Zara admitted of her conversations with sex workers in Thailand: “My work in the violence against women space allowed me 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. I have a huge amount of empathy for the women who are pressured to work in such an unpredictable and at times unsafe industry. “
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