Alex Scott ‘deeply hurt by BBC treatment’ as Football Focus star considers quitting after ‘lack of support’

Alex Scott has reportedly been left ‘deeply hurt’ by her treatment at the BBC and is considering leaving the broadcaster when her contract expires next year.

The 40-year-old has been the presenter of Football Focus ever since replacing Dan Walker three years ago.

In 2023, it emerged that the programme’s viewing figures were declining – with the show no longer scaling the heights of old.

Scott’s contract with the BBC is currently due to expire next year. However, according to The Sun, the former football star is considering leaving the broadcaster and moving to America with girlfriend Jess Glynne.

A source says that Scott has been left ‘deeply hurt’ after the BBC’s ‘lack of support’.

She won’t be part of the Beeb’s presenting line-up for Children in Need next month, for the first time in four years.

Rochelle Humes and Vernon Kay will take over from Scott and Jason Manford instead – and while that decision was ‘mutual’, the former Arsenal star is considering her future nonetheless.

The insider was quoted as saying: “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.

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“She wants to concentrate on her ambassadorships with UNICEF and Refuge right now, and is also contemplating a move to America with her girlfriend, Jess [Glynne].

“There are no guarantees she will be with the BBC next summer – her contract is up for renewal and she is in talks for a raft of other exciting projects.

“Football Focus turns 50 this year and Alex is now seriously contemplating moving on from the show.

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

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“The viewing figures were not as reported and she feels no-one backed her up and issued the correct viewing figures.

“The viewing figures are actually super healthy, and Alex raised her concerns as she has been in this business long enough now to stand up for herself.”

This latest development comes after it was claimed that Football Focus had lost a third of its audience in the space of four years.

Walker, Scott’s predecessor, said it was ‘hard to see’ the programme struggling.

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This then sparked Scott into responding, with the 40-year-old replying to Walker by saying: “Interesting.”

The former England star isn’t the only presenter facing an uncertain future.

Gary Lineker’s own deal with the BBC is due to expire next year, with no renewal in sight.

Reports recently said that BBC chief Alex Kay-Jelski had been ‘making moves’ to get rid of Lineker, who has been the host of Match of the Day ever since 1999.

He’s said to feel the Beeb require a younger host in order to attract new viewers.

Kay-Jelski also reportedly believes that Lineker’s name doesn’t carry as much weight as it once did.