Scott says Overlap feels like chatting with mates

During her playing career Jill Scott was never one to back out of a challenge. She collected a slew of major honours with Everton and Manchester City. She now appears on The Overlap alongside Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher.

From the pitch to the YouTube studio

The Lionesses legend quickly became a staple of the successful YouTube channel. She gives as good as she gets with the gaggle of former Premier League stars. Scott moved into the media after hanging up her boots, with Image credit to Getty Images.

She admits the atmosphere around the table can be so relaxed that she sometimes forgets she is appearing in front of an audience. Rather than feeling like another television commitment, she says the sessions feel more like a catch‑up with old friends. “I actually forget that people are watching and listening – I’m just excited because I haven’t seen the guys for a couple of weeks,” she tells, adding “I’m like, ‘Let’s have your opinions on football’, but it’s just like chatting with your mates. I love it.”

Scott believes the chemistry and varied backgrounds of the panel are key to the show’s success. “All of our relationships are different,” she says, “I’d describe it as like siblings in a way. I like that they’ve got big personalities, because that’s when they get into arguments.”

“But what I love, and I think it’s their generation, is that you can say something that someone doesn’t agree with, but then walk away and still be the best of mates. That’s how football should be,” she adds. She recalls, “When I played, you could be playing against your best mate in an FA Cup final and one of you would win, then the next day you’d go back to being best friends.” She argues that the perception women’s football lacks banter is wrong, insisting it is more ruthless than men’s football.

“I could tell you plenty of stories from my playing days, but they wouldn’t make it into the magazine! If you don’t know someone and they’re saying things to try to bring you down, then it crosses into bullying,” she says. “But we’re friends, and I give it back to them just as much. I actually feel like I get more leeway sometimes, being female. I love that they feel relaxed and anything that’s said, I always know it’s in jest,” she concludes.