Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
Former Arsenal and England defender Alex Scott opened up on the struggles she had to endure while she was growing up.
Scott, who captained both sides in her career, grew up in Poplar, East London, part of a 'toxic environment' which would have a toll on her.
The Brit, who was awarded an MBE in 2017, has since set precedents as a female football presenter, becoming the first woman to present the World Cup for the BBC in 2018 and to host BBC One's Football Focus from 2021 onwards, firmly becoming a part of the public eye.
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It's now been three years since Scott opened up about her traumatic childhood in her autobiography, How (Not) to Be Strong, which delved into the abuse she, her older brother, Ronnie, and mum, Carol, suffered from her father, Tony.
She described him as 'stupidly cruel' and an alcoholic, claims he has since denied.
Opening up in a Times interview last year, the I'm A Celeb star spoke about how she would lay awake at night, listening to her mum's screams while she was 'beaten' by Tony.
She explained: “We weren’t allowed to express emotion. Dad didn’t allow us to hug each other or say ‘I love you’. It had a huge impact on us all.
“To this day, if I want to show people love, I’ll do it by taking them out to dinner and paying.”
When Scott was eight, before she was scouted, her mum courageously told Tony to leave, with the former footballer admitting from that point on that 'Dad played no part in my life'.
She later threw herself into her career and even completed a media degree to prepare for a post-playing career in punditry.
But in 2018, Scott said she realised the psychological scars she was holding, revealing that she was close to becoming an alcoholic, saying: “If I had any problems, I thought, ‘A drink will get rid of it’.”
The star soon started therapy, saying she will 'always' do it as it has helped her a huge amount.
Speaking more about her struggles in an appearance on Loose Women in 2023, Scott explained: “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.”
The former right-back said that they would 'know what's going to happen' if they stepped out of line, adding: “What my mum would go through, the terror, the helplessness that you can't do anything, you're just living in fear.”
Tony denied Scott's claims, telling the MailOnline in response: “I have no idea why she's saying all this stuff. I was raised in a strict but loving Jamaican family and Alex should know what they are like. I taught her discipline, I did a lot to help her. Perhaps she is judging me by today's standards, I don't know.”
He said that he never 'beat anyone in the family', claiming that parents were simply 'tougher back then'.
“I was never violent, that's just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that,” Tony claimed.
Scott said it was 'another nail in the coffin', as she wrote that book to empower her mum and 'free' her, admitting: “I always try to see the good in people, so before I’d been, like, ‘I hope he has healed, he’ll have found love in his life.’ But clearly he couldn’t see I still had love for him. I was, like, ‘OK, I’m done with you.’”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247, available 24/7, or via live chat, available 10am-10pm, Monday to Friday.
Topics: Celebrity, Football, Im A Celebrity, Mental Health
Joshua Nair