Alex Scott has revealed she was left too terrified to go out after racist trolls threatened to throw acid in her face.
The presenter, 40, spoke about the downsides of fame, including the abuse she received when she was wrongly chosen to replace national treasure Sue Barker as presenter of the BBC’s A Question of Sport in 2021.
she wrote in The times: “People said, ‘She’s only on TV because she’s black, female, and younger.’ It just ticks boxes.”
Paddy McGuinness was in fact the show’s new presenter and, after 50 years on air, only lasted two series under his leadership before being sacked.
She continued: “I was afraid to leave the house because these trolls said they were going to throw acid in my face, but luckily there are other people who make me smile.”
Alex Scott, 40, has revealed she was left too terrified to go out after racist trolls threatened to throw acid in her face.
The presenter, 40, spoke about the downsides of fame, including the abuse she received when she was wrongly chosen to replace national treasure Sue Barker as presenter of the BBC’s A Question of Sport in 2021.
“They come up to me at my local store and say, ‘Keep going,’ and that’s what I do.”
Alex previously revealed that the abuse got to the point that he turned to alcohol, but later found therapy to be an effective way to come to terms with the more extreme reactions he received on social media.
Earlier this year he admitted turning hate into motivation to keep working and said his relationship with pop singer Jess Glynne had boosted his confidence.
The former footballer enjoyed a celebrated 13-year international career and dated Arsenal team-mate Kelly Smith for eight years before meeting Jess, 34, last year.
Alex said: ‘I’m in this bubble right now… I’m more open to accepting and being more vulnerable. I enjoy saying, “Okay, I’ll get on with this.”
In an interview with Women’s Health magazine, Alex described it as “a little ammunition to go ahead and celebrate because you’re annoying people.”
The former Lioness said: “I’m going to continue to thrive, I’m going to continue to kill you with my kindness and doing my job at a level you can’t stand.”
Alex was also attacked during coverage of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, with her partner Lord Digby Jones suggesting she would benefit from elocution lessons due to her East End accent.
She said: “People said, ‘She’s only on TV because she’s black, female and younger.’ “It just ticks boxes”‘ (Sue Barker pictured in A Question Of Sport)
Paddy McGuinness was in fact the show’s new presenter and, after 50 years on air, only lasted two series under his leadership before being sacked.
‘I was afraid to leave the house because these trolls said they were going to throw acid in my face, but luckily there are other people who make me smile.’
The former government minister wrote on Twitter: ‘Enough! I can’t take it anymore! Alex Scott ruins a good job presenting to the BBC Olympic team with his notable inability to pronounce the ‘g’s at the end of a word. Competitors do NOT participate, Alex, in fencing, rowing, boxing, kayaking, weightlifting and swimming.
Alex explained that while he can often accept the comments of online naysayers, he found himself in a particularly vulnerable state after the Olympics.
‘I can slip into dark places. And once I slip into dark places, I don’t stop. I loved being at the Olympics, but then I realized the crazy pressure I had put on myself to accept it all: the trolling, the racism, Lord Digby Jones.’
Last month, Alex said he is now “in the best place” at 40, but admitted it hasn’t always been easy and detailed his struggle with rejection.
Speaking to Hunger magazine, he explained: ‘Sometimes people only see the final process, but not what it took.
‘The rejection, people not thinking I was good enough because of my accent and so on.
“That constant drive to prove people wrong has always been present in that young woman from Poplar.”
Reflecting on his younger self, he added: “that young Alex in the cage had dreams.” She wanted to see the world. “She could see there was a bigger picture and she didn’t want to be trapped in that football cage and think that was her life.”
Alex signed for Arsenal when she was just eight years old and later became their captain.
After appearing in the Women’s Super League 140 times, the star retired from football in September 2017 and began putting her experience to good use from the presenting chair in BBC Sport landing jobs at the Women’s World Cup.