Alex Scott shares horrifying account of trolls threatening to throw acid in her face

Footballing legend, turned BBC host, Alex Scott has revealed unhinged A Question Of Sport fans threatened to throw acid in her face as it was rumoured she would present the show

Sports icon Alex Scott has revealed vile trolls threatened to throw acid in her face as they attacked her over her work.

The 40-year-old former England player has built an impressive presenting career since hanging up her football boots - regularly hosting the BBC's The One Show and offering pundit skills on BBC Sport. But the star has been the target of vicious social media trolls who have bombarded her with racist abuse and threatened to attack her in real life.

Alex - who has been dating pop beauty Jess Glynne since 2023 - has revealed she the abuse against her reached a terrifying new level when it was rumoured she would take over the hosting of sporting based game show A Question Of Sport. The long-running BBC show had been hosted by Sue Barker from 1997 until her exit in 2021.

Rumours circled that Alex would be the star to take over the main host chair - however, the rumours turned out to be false as Paddy McGuinness took over the show. However, Alex was threatened with physical violence after the speculation reached a new high ahead of the 2021 season.

Recounting her ordeal with The Times, Alex said: "I was scared to go out of the house because these trolls were saying they were going to throw acid in my face." She added: "There are negatives to fame. I’ve had plenty of racism, abuse and even death threats."

Alex went on to explain that she has been routinely targeted negatively over her TV career following her 2017 retirement from professional sport. She said: "People were saying, 'She’s only on TV because she’s black, female and younger. She’s just ticking boxes'... 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."

When Paddy took over A Question of Sport, he sparked a furious backlash from fans as many noted he had no sporting qualifications of his own. The backlash appeared to impact ratings of the show - which sharply declined and the long-running game show was axed by the BBC in 2023 after it had been on the air for 55 years.

The axe swung down on the series just two years after Paddy took up the reigns. In May 2021, Alex was unveiled as a host of Football Focus - making history by becoming the show’s first permanent female host in its 46-year history.

Sharing her joy over the announcement at the time, Alex said in a statement: "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. To say I’m the Football Focus presenter feels surreal. I’ve had some amazing messages and an incredible reaction on social media - I want to thank everyone for their support."

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