TV Host Seeks Medical Treatment After Tick Scare

Alex Scott, a host of Football Focus was forced to seek medical attention in scenes not aired by ITV, which she says sent her into a panic after a tick burrowed into her shoulder. It was unexpected, and her co-stars around her demanded she seek help.

The I Am Celeb star said it happened during filming and had been aware of tics and their effects. But she admits it was a shock that it happened to her.

“I was sitting next to Martin after carrying the logs and I felt my shoulder, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a big spot that’s come up.’ I asked him to have a look, then Kelly jumps up and says, ‘It’s a tick.’ I was panicking as she was shouting that I needed to get to medical. I knew about ticks and leeches, but I always thought it wouldn’t happen to me. They got it off but no one else has had one,” she explained in an interview with Mirror.

A “tick bug” is a blood-sucking arachnid, not an insect. They are infamous for transmitting diseases like Lyme disease. They are difficult to spot because they don’t have wings. Ticks lie in grassy, wooded, and brushy areas and can cause a red lump at the bite site, with potential symptoms of fever, headache, or a rash appearing later. Prevention against them involves using repellent, wearing protective clothing, and checking your body and pets after spending time outdoors.

She also revealed there were also leeches. Scott said things went from bad to worse when she realized her partner Jess Glynne wasn’t waiting for her when she left. It made her more even more afraid. 

Prior to flying to Australia to film, Glynne’s mother suffered a stroke, and Scott contemplated pulling out of the show, but ultimately decided to continue on. “It’s been a tough time for us and obviously her family, and it was a tough decision to come into the jungle, but then Jess never wanted me to step away from not doing it,” she said. 

She continued: “I knew there was always a possibility of her not being across the bridge, if her mum hadn’t got better, or if things had been getting worse, which they have been. But it was a big decision for me to not pass this opportunity, and Jess was the one that pushed me to be here.”

Scott also opened up about another part of the competition: her salt smuggling operation. She was caught sneaking seasoning on crocodile feet.

“I felt like such a naughty schoolgirl, like I should have been put in detention or something,” she joked. “We had stopped at a service station, and they just had all these little sachets of salt and pepper. I was staring at them for ages, like, ‘Shall I? No… they’ll frisk me.’ But I put them down my socks and didn’t get checked.” And she reveals that a string of other campmates knew about her secret contraband stash. “Jack knew about it, Ginge saw me one night… he just kept giving me the eye. Shona knew about it from early days,” she admits.