Everything you need to know about Alex Scott as presenter becomes Refuge ambassador
Alex Scott has become an ambassador for Refuge, vowing to try to raise awareness of domestic abuse and help victims and survivors.
“It is an incredible honour to be joining Refuge as an ambassador," the former Lioness says of her appointment. "I first started working with Refuge following the launch of my book, in which I opened up about my experience of domestic abuse as a child.
“Since then, I have learned so much more about the scale of domestic abuse in society and the impact sharing your experience can have on fellow survivors.
“As an ambassador, I want to use my platform and voice to spread awareness of domestic abuse and ensure that women know what support is available to them.”
As the BBC presenter takes on her important new role, here's everything you need to know about her in nine points.
Alex Scott: Everything you need to know about the footballer turned presenter in nine points
Who is Alex Scott? Scott, 38, made 140 appearances for the England national team and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
First spotted and signed by Arsenal at the age of eight in 1992, Scott went on to play for the team on three different occasions while also playing for Birmingham City and having a stint in the US until her retirement in 2018.
What does she do now? In 2018 Scott made history as the first female Sky pundit on a Sky Sports Super Sunday, then, in 2021 she took over from Dan Walker as host of BBC show Football Focus becoming the show's first permanent female host in its 47-year history.
She also joined the BBC World Cup commentary line-up and presented Sports Personality Of The Year 2022.
She has appeared on reality TV. As well as winning Bear Grylls’ ITV show Mission Survive in 2016, and appearing on Who Do You Think You Are?, in 2019 Scott swapped her football boots for dancing shoes as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. Partnered with professional dancer Neil Jones, the couple were eliminated in week 11, coming fifth.
She has an MBE. In 2017 she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to football.
"I knew the importance of having the women around me who have been my inspiration – my mum and my nan," she said of the occasion. "We went to The Ritz for surprise afternoon tea and that’s my last happy memory of my nan, as she passed away soon after."
She was embroiled in some World Cup controversy. Scott and many other presenters of the World Cup coverage received some backlash because of Qatar’s laws on homosexuality and its treatment of migrant workers.
While Scott respects that many people wanted to boycott last year’s World Cup, she defended her decision to present the games.
“I’m here because I love my job and, when I think about it, sitting here and having the harder conversations: we’re talking about the migrant workers, LGBTQ+ community, we’re talking about women’s rights," Scott told BBC Sport.
“You think about four years ago, I was the first female pundit for the BBC at a World Cup. You think how far we’ve moved in four years. Let’s hope, in the next four years, we’re never having to have these conversations again.”
She keeps her love life private. In her memoir, Scott said that she and Arsenal and England teammate Kelly Smith were in a relationship from 2005 to 2013.
While she says she fell “madly and deeply in love” with Smith, Scott has not explicitly labelled her sexuality and has been in relationships with both men and women.
Scott has struggled with online trolls. The TV presenter previously opened up about being targeted over false reports that she had been chosen to replace Sue Barker as the new host of A Question Of Sport, a role which actually went to Paddy McGuinness.
“That was at a level that I was scared for my life," she admitted, saying she received death threats.
“I was scared to leave my house to even go to the shop. That’s the stage that we’d got to – that, oh my gosh, someone black might be replacing a national treasure could cause such hatred.”
She hit back when her accent was criticised. Scott said she was “proud of my accent” after former Labour minister and ex-House of Lords member, Digby Jones, commented on her pronunciation.
Scott responded by saying she was proud to be from a working class family in east London.
“Proud of the young girl who overcame obstacles, and proud of my accent! It’s me, it’s my journey, my grit," she tweeted.
“A quick one to any young kids who may not have a certain kind of privilege in life.
“Never allow judgments on your class, accent, or appearance (to) hold you back.
“Tweets like this just give me the energy to keep going.”
She has spoken out about misogyny. “I’ve had so many tweets saying I should be at home ironing or cooking," she told Radio Times.
“I don’t care about those, but sometimes people threaten my life and those have to be taken seriously.
“It’s my responsibility to change perceptions by sitting in that chair and talking about football.”
Additional reporting PA.
