TV presenter and former England footballer Alex Scott, who is in a longterm relationship with pop star Jess Glynne, has revealed in an interview that online trolls threatened to throw acid in her face, leaving her scared to leave her home.
She told The Times newspaper that when she was mentioned in a list of possible replacements for another BBC sports show, her critics rushed to attack her online.
She said: “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.’”
Scott, who has 140 national caps to her name, is currently the host of Football Focus and the occasional presenter for The One Show and Match of the Day, added: “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. They’ll come up to me in my local shop and say, “Keep going,” and that’s what I do.”
Scott remains the face of Football Focus, and is in the running to replace long-standing host of Match of the Day, Gary Lineker, who last week announced he would be stepping down from the role after 25 years.