McDermott began her broadcasting career in the 1970s as a continuity announcer and newsreader for Westward Television in Plymouth.
[2] In 1979, the year of the ITV strike, McDermott joined Anglia Television as an announcer and newsreader, where she quickly became one of the station's most popular faces.
She later became one of the chief anchors for the East sub-regional edition of Anglia News between 1990 and 2001, and continued to work on a range of other regional programmes.
In January 2011, McDermott joined BBC Radio Norfolk in Norwich as presenter of the 11 am to 1 pm slot from Monday to Thursday.
McDermott has run OhYesItIz Productions with Desmond Barrit since 2004, producing the annual pantomime at the Pavilion Theatre in Gorleston.