BBC presenter and former footballer Alex Scott's life in photos

Alexandra Virina Scott was born on 14 October 1984, in Poplar, London, to a British mother and a Jamaican father. She has got a younger brother called Ronnie. 

Alex Scott was keen on football from a very early age, and she signed with Arsenal football club when she was only eight years old. 

During her time playing for Arsenal, Alex Scott quickly became a star footballer. She won 23 trophies with the club, and 140 caps for the English national team.

Alex Scott opened up about her childhood in her memoir, entitled How (Not) to be Strong. She explained her father left home when she was seven years old. She wrote:

‘I remember it very clearly, we were all there together in our council flat. My dad said he was leaving. Then he said: ’And if I'm going, I'm taking everything with me'.

In her memoir, the footballer opened up about witnessing domestic violence in her childhood, and living in fear. She wrote:

‘I grew up on an east London council estate witnessing domestic violence towards my mum, and I lived a lot of my early life in fear’.

The star athlete pledged that all the proceedings from the sales of her memoir would be donated to charities, dedicated to helping women who had been abused.

Alex Scott spoke about her mother, Carol, in her memoir. The footballer explained she made ends meet as best as she could, saying:

‘I knew in that moment that even though we had nothing, we were going to be OK because we had her’.

In 2023, Alex Scott opened up about her rocky relationship with her father, while she was a guest on Loose Women. She said:

'I wanted to love my dad so much, I was daddy's little girl, but he had this dark side and that's a side we saw a lot of growing up. Drink helped it come out a lot more, you could see him turn, that's how he took it out on all of us, more so my mum. From a baby I could feel it, the environment we're in'.

Alex Scott chose to retire from her professional football career in 2017, after a successful career. However, she has turned her life around since then.

Since retiring, Alex Scott has become a BBC presenter. She hosts several sports shows, such as Match of the Day, Football Focus, and The One Show. 

Thanks to her coverage of the 2023 Women's World Cup, the Women's Super League, and her work on Sports Personality of the Year, Alex Scott earned around £220,000 in 2023.

Alex Scott has become one of the most famous faces of women's football, which sadly comes with a price. She has opened up about receiving constant death threats. 

During an exclusive interview with The Times, Alex Scott explained she sometimes feels tired of being a woman in a man's world. She said:

‘I love being part of pushing the dial forward on how women are viewed in certain spaces, although there are days when I’m like, why do I have to keep fighting the fight all the time?’

Alex Scott opened up about suffering from racist and sexist attacks during her career. She told The Times:

'There are negatives to fame. I’ve had plenty of racism, abuse and even death threats. When I was reported incorrectly to be replacing national treasure Sue Barker as the host of A Question of Sport, people were saying, 'She’s only on TV because she’s black, female and younger. She’s just ticking boxes'.

Being a public figure comes with massive cons, as Alex Scott explained she receives constant death threats. She told The Times:

‘I was scared to go out of the house because these trolls were saying they were going to throw acid in my face, but luckily there are other people who keep me smiling.’

Thankfully, Alex Scott told The Times she can count on the support of her fans, which helps her to keep going. She said:

'They’ll come up to me in my local shop and say, 'Keep going', and that’s what I do.'

During her interview with The Times, the athlete opened up about her strict daily routine. She explained:

‘Staying in bed beyond 7.30am gives me anxiety. I like to be in the gym before eight, rather than checking my phone or sending emails when I wake up. It’s a deliberate act of self-care.’

Alex Scott has never labelled her sexuality, and she doesn't have to, but she explained having dated both men and women in her life. 

In 2020, Alex Scott went on a date with Coronation Street actor Sam Robertson, which she described as ‘disastrous’. In 2021, she told The Sun:

‘My one date in ages was going out with Sam [Robertson], who is lovely.’

While they didn't continue their romance, pictures of their date was leaked to the press. She explained:

'The next morning, our pictures were all over the press because someone in the restaurant had taken a photo. It wasn't exactly a great start!'

Between 2005 and 2013, Alex Scott was in a relationship with fellow Arsenal player Kelly Smith and confirmed it in her memoir. She wrote:

'Here I was, madly in love for the first time in my life, with an alcoholic. It didn't bode well.'

Alex Scott and British singer Jess Glynne first met in May 2023, while they were both invited on a panel at Advertising Week Europe. 

The couple was first pictured together in July 2023, when they attended Wimbledon together, wearing coordinated outfits. They made their first public appearance in August 2023, dressed in all black.

Alex Scott and Jess Glynne made their relationship official in October 2023. A source close to the couple told the Daily Mail:

‘They are both strong, independent women with a shared passion and respect of their respective careers, supporting one another from the sidelines.’

Despite both being public figures, Jess Glynne emphasized the importance of keeping details of their relationship private. She told Feane Cotton on the Happy Place podcast:

‘It’s so important. Even though we’re both in this public space, what we have, that’s ours. I feel like that’s something I will always do.’

During her interview with The Times, the former footballer talked about the impact of her strict daily routine on her partner. She explained:

‘I wake up next to my partner, Jess, who has become the same person as me over the past year and a half— she can see what going to the gym does for me mentally, so she’ll do the same.’

As the end of the year 2024 approaches, Alex Scott's contract with the BBC is coming to an end. The rumour mill claims she might choose to leave her job and make a life-changing decision.

In 2020, Stylist revealed that Alex Scott made history when she joined the BBC. Indeed, she became the first woman to be the permanent presenter of Football Focus when she took over from Dan Walker.

Alex Scott explained she never would have dreamed of becoming a BBC presenter when she was a child. She said:

‘When I was a kid, I would never have watched television and thought someone like me could be presenting a programme like Football Focus. For the BBC to trust me with this role and allow me to be my true, authentic self means a lot.’

For the first time in four years, it has been announced that Alex Scott would not host Children in Need. This led to rumours spreading about the athlete's possibly leaving the BBC. A source explained:

'Alex has never been happier than she is right now, she's just turned 40 and embracing a new chapter in her life, and the decision to part ways from Children In Need - an event she is hugely proud to have been a part of - was entirely mutual.'

In 2023, Alex Scott was wrongly blamed for Football Focus' falling views, which reportedly might play a part in her decision to possibly leave the BBC. The source told The Sun:

‘Last year she was hugely hurt by unfair criticism about falling viewing figures - and felt she was thrown under a bus.’