'Interesting' – Alex Scott responds to Dan Walker claim Football Focus is 'struggling'

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The ex-Arsenal and England player has defended the show following a surprising tweet from her predecessor on Saturday

Alex Scott and Dan Walker pitchside during TV coverage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former Arsenal and England footballer Alex Scott has responded to Dan Walker on social media after her predecessor said he was sorry to see Football Focus 'struggling'.

Walker, who is now on Channel 5, presented Football Focus for a 12-year period between 2009 and 2021.

A report by the Daily Mail on Friday suggested the programme was in crisis following a slump in viewing figures and the news anchor, who was replaced by Scott on the BBC Saturday show, took to Twitter to give his view.

"It's hard to see Football Focus struggling. I loved it growing up and it was an honour to present it and I still miss it," Walker tweeted.

"We poured everything into that show every week and worked hard to keep it relevant. I hope it stays part of the TV landscape."

Scott, who has worked with Walker on BBC coverage in the past, replied with a GIF showing a girl looking at a computer screen and the word 'interesting'.

Whether it was meant as a dig at his former colleague is unclear, but Walker's words provoked a pile-on against Scott on the social media site.

Later, Walker then replied to Scott: "I’m not saying you haven't Alex," he wrote. "It's a saturated market and it’s hard work every week. I hope you have a good show today."

According to the Daily Mail, Football Focus viewing figures are down from 849,000 in 2019 to 564,000 last month.

After the Daily Mail story on Friday, Scott tweeted: "We have big interviews with Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal captain Martin Odegarard coming up on the ‘Award’ winning Football Focus tomorrow."

And she added: "Make that a headline."

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Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.