BBC presenter Alex Scott wearing a coat
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Alex Scott opens up about her difficult childhood and strained parental relationships

It's been a tough journey for the BBC star

Alex Scott had a tough upbringing with her parents, and it majorly impacted her as an adult.

BBC presenter Alex, who is currently in Qatar covering the World Cup 2022, has spoken openly about her parental struggles.

So is she still close to them? Read on and we’ll tell you.

BBC Presenter Alex Scott holding a bag
Sports presenter Alex Scott had a tough upbringing (Credit: Splashnews)

Alex Scott: Is she close with her parents?

Alex’s father is called Tony, and her mother is called Carol McKee.

Tony left Alex’s mother when the future football star was seven.

Alex hasn’t had a relationship with him since he left.

In a shocking revelation in her book How (Not) To Be Strong, Alex opened up about her “violent” childhood.

Alex alleged that she and her brother would often hear their dad beating their mother.

As a result, one incident was said to be so violent Alex believed her mother had died.

Furthermore, Alex is said to have been so traumatised by her experiences she is still unable to hug her mother or brother Ronnie.

However, Alex’s dad has denied her claims, and claimed that she was part of a “loving” family”.

“I have no idea why she’s saying all this stuff,” he told Mail Online.

“I was raised in a strict but loving Jamaican family and I taught her discipline, I did a lot to help her.”

He continued: “Perhaps she is judging me by today’s standards. People 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.”

In response to her father’s denial, Alex told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour that she had been left feeling “angry”.

“I almost feel angry at myself that I’m allowing him to hurt me again by those claims of lying,” said the star.

BBC star Alex Scott covering her face
Alex Scott spoke openly about her parents in her new book (Credit: Splashnews)

Ex-Lioness Alex pays tribute to her beloved mother

Addressing her father directly, she said: “If you are saying being beaten with a belt is just being strict – I can take that, I really don’t care about me.

“That story from him coming out yesterday takes her [her mother] back to a place… hearing the pain and the terror again in her voice last night – that’s why I don’t know what I can do. But I’m not going to allow him to win any more.”

Alex is still close with her mother and brother.

Speaking on This Morning last month, Alex said: “Move forward and feel free, I write in the book that she still thinks she is a coward and she is anything but, she is an amazing woman.”

“I wrote the book because I wanted my mum to be free of it, now. I want my mum to feel she has the whole rest of her life to live.

“And for me to be free of all the emotions, and all the heaviness of it all. So, I’m excited for, now this next chapter.”

Read more: Alex Scott book: Star details ‘secret’ health condition and heartbreaking way it affects her career

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