EXCLUSIVE – ‘I never beat Alex. I don’t understand why she said these things about me’: Alex Scott’s father hits back at her claims he ‘bullied and abused’ her as he insists he ‘was strict but never violent’
- BBC football pundit describes her father Tony Scott as a ‘controlling violent drunk’ who was ‘stupidly cruel’
- Said he has left her so traumatised that to this day she is unable to hug her mother Carol or brother Ronnie
- Mr Scott vehemently denied claims and said he could not understand why Alex is portraying him in this way
Alex Scott’s father has hit backs at her claims that he bullied and abused her during a traumatic childhood, insisting that he was strict – but not violent.
The BBC football pundit describes her father Tony Scott as a ‘controlling violent drunk’ who was ‘stupidly cruel’ and that she and her brother would frequently hear him beating their mother – with one incident so violent that she believed that she had died.
On one occasion she recalled how he beat them and made them throw their toys away insisting that life under him has left her so traumatised that to this day she is unable to hug her mother Carol or brother Ronnie.
Alex, 37, was comforted by Holly Willoughby after breaking down in tears on ITV’s This Morning as she spoke about life under her father prior to him walking out on her mother and leaving the family home in east London when she was seven.
But speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Scott, 63 vehemently denied the allegations and said he could not understand why Alex is portraying him in this way.
The BBC football pundit (right) describes her father Tony Scott (left) as a ‘controlling violent drunk’ who was ‘stupidly cruel’
He cried: ‘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. Parents were a lot tougher back then. But I was never violent, that’s just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that.’
Appearing on This Morning, the former Lioness who played for Arsenal, admitted that discussing her traumatic past in interviews to promote her memoir ‘How (Not) to Be Strong’ was the ‘hardest part.’
She revealed that, despite writing about her distressing formative years in the book, she claimed to not have spoken it out loud – and began crying when Phillip Schofield read a segment promoting his co-host Holly to rush over and give her a big cuddle.
Alex wrote: ‘When my dad was sober he was a charming guy, but the moment drink was involved that would change. Me, my mum and brother have never spoken about it.’
When Schofield asked Alex whether it was ‘difficult to write’, she took a moment to regain her composure while filling up with tears.
She said while bawling: ‘The hardest part is, I didn’t write that chapter to shame my dad. I wanted my mum to be free.’
On one occasion Alex recalled how he beat them and made them throw their toys away insisting that life under him has left her so traumatised that to this day she is unable to hug her mother Carol or brother Ronnie (she is pictured with them in an old photo)
Alex previously recalled: ‘What my mum would go through, the terror, the helplessness that you can’t do anything, you’re just living in fear’ (pictured in 2013)
Mr Scott, who as one of six siblings raised in east London insisted that he only attempted to instil a sense of discipline in Alex, which he maintained has helped her in her career.
He protested: ‘I’m old school Jamaican, that’s all. Alex’s portrayal of me is completely wrong. But it’s just one of those things.’
He revealed that Alex messaged him two weeks ago to tell him that she was about to embark on a round of media interviews to accompany the launch of her new memoir.
He added: ‘When Alex messaged me, she said that stuff was going to come out but wrote that: ‘I will always love you, that’s just how you are, I accept that.’
‘She said that she wanted to meet me, but I couldn’t because I was out of the country. I’ve seen the media coverage and don’t understand why Alex has said all these things about me.’
Mr Scott insisted that he wanted to ‘prove his case’ that he is not the violent, drunken man he is being portrayed as.
He added: ‘A lot of things went on between me and Alex’s mum, it’s a long story. I’m collating a lot of stuff that will prove my case.’
During an interview last week with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast Alex said she has not spoken to her father in person for five years after they attend her grandmother’s funeral.
Alex, 37, was comforted by Holly Willoughby after breaking down in tears on ITV’s This Morning as she spoke about life under her father prior to him walking out on her mother and leaving the family home in east London when she was seven
She revealed that her last contact with Mr Scott came two years later when she was competing on Strictly Come Dancing and had made it through to Blackpool week and he asked her for some tickets.
But Mr Scott insisted: ‘I’ve not seen her for several years, but I have had messages from her over that time. It’s not true that there’s been no contact between us since I contacted her about Strictly Come Dancing.
‘As I’ve told you, she messaged me two weeks ago and wanted to see me.’
In another interview, Alex said she and Ronnie were forced to throw their toys away by Mr Scott who then beat them after she left a green space beside a tower block where they lived.
Mr Scott admitted: ‘Yes, I did make them throw their toys away, but I didn’t beat them. I bought those toys with my money. The kids were behaving badly and that was their punishment. What’s wrong with that?’
In her memoir Alex lifts the lid for the first time on her relationship with Kelly Smith, 43 who played alongside her for both England and Arsenal.
During a television interview, she explained why she wrote about it, explaining that ‘parts of the relationship affected her throughout her life’ and she needed to ‘break the cycle.’
Mr Scott said: ‘I knew about Alex’s sexuality all along, well before she was even with Kelly Smith. Everyone in the family knew about it.’
During an interview last week with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast Alex said she has not spoken to her father in person for five years after they attend her grandmother’s funeral (she’s seen with her mother in 2019)
Recalling Alex’s career, he said: ‘I’ve always been proud of her. I’ve even gone to matches to see her play. I don’t even like football but the only team that I’ve ever supported is Arsenal’s Women’s Team.’
Following the adverse publicity he has received since Alex’s interviews and her memoir, Mr Scott said that he was considering meeting her to discuss what she said.
He added: ‘I will speak to her but it’s something that I need to think about. I’ve got a lot of other things on at the moment that are more important. At the end of the day, what’s come out about me is just one of those things but there’s more to tell to this story and one day, I want the full truth to come out.’
For the past 15 years, Mr Scott has been living in the Lake District where he works as a guide for a travel company taking tourists from across the world around the region.
He said: ‘Look at the reviews of me by people I’ve taken on tour. Does that strike you as a violent, horrible man? I live a great, peaceful life. I don’t miss London at all, and it puzzles me to think why Alex is saying all these things about me.’
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