00:03Being active, being involved in sport has always been a major part of my life.
00:08The feeling that it gives me, look it's even making me smile.
00:12Football cage, East London, that's where all my dreams started.
00:17I can see a little Alex in that football cage.
00:21It looks like nothing but to us that football cage was everything.
00:26Playing football was just an obsession.
00:28I felt like I was just me and free.
00:31I was accepted as one of the boys.
00:33I had to fight and prove my worth.
00:35And I think all those sort of things stood me in good stead to where I am now.
00:40That I earned my spot.
00:45So straight away this takes me back.
00:50A laundrette.
00:51The Arsenal Men's Laundry.
00:53It's not the most glamorous job.
00:54But I needed a job to help me get to training in the first place.
00:59To buy football boots.
01:00That 16 year old was ambitious.
01:02And she believed that, you know, people had these limitations on me.
01:07But I wanted to prove those people wrong.
01:09And I knew that there were things that I wanted to achieve in my life.
01:13That was it going to be hard? Yes.
01:15But I had the determination that I was going to get my head down and work hard.
01:19And be in a place where I knew I potentially could be today.
01:24The girl from East London going to live in America.
01:27An amazing three years.
01:29I got drafted into the American League when I was 23.
01:34Playing in front of crowds.
01:35The chance to be a fully fledged professional for the first time in my life.
01:39I'd never had that.
01:40The best thing that I could ever do at that stage in my life.
01:43And I think I thrive off challenges actually.
01:45Yeah, so many good memories.
01:47But when we talk about adversity and having to overcome things.
01:51It's when I experienced my first major injury in football.
01:55I remember it was a tough training session.
01:59A sly tackle from one of my teammates.
02:02Rolled my ankle and immediately knowing that, oh, this is serious.
02:08Chronic pain.
02:10And then now I'm sat there and you're telling me that I've got osteoarthritis.
02:15Arthritis? I'm in my 20s. I ain't got arthritis.
02:18You know, you have an image of that.
02:20You don't think about long term.
02:21It's like this big fancy word, oh, you've got osteoarthritis.
02:25I'm like, okay, how do I get onto the pitch on Sunday?
02:27Just tell me that.
02:29I've now got to live with this problem and managing it for the rest of my career.
02:33And not only my career, but okay, what's after my career? Life.
02:38I haven't really spoke about it.
02:40It was never going to stop me doing what I wanted to do.
02:45I wanted to achieve.
02:46You find a way.
02:47Yes, it's an invisible injury.
02:50But it really doesn't have to stop you.
02:53Those days are gone of what we think that as soon as you're diagnosed,
02:57you can't do this, you can't do that.
02:59You can.
03:01Don't let it stop you.
03:02Carry on living an active lifestyle, smiling and enjoying what you do.
03:10Wembley FA Cup Final 2016.
03:14The smile is like one of my biggest smiles because it's one of my fondest memories.
03:19Because I think it takes me back to being that kid playing in the football cage in the East End
03:23of London.
03:24The emotion right now.
03:26Like, I don't know.
03:29It's hard to describe that feeling walking the stairs and lifting that cup.
03:33I don't think I felt my ankle walking up those steps.
03:36Because the adrenaline.
03:38I'd planned a big party being the team captain.
03:41So it's not until I think we reached the party that I was like,
03:43I need to put trainers on.
03:44I can't wear heels because my ankles are hurting.
03:47But nothing was going to stop me.
03:49I never want anyone to feel sorry for me.
03:53And so it's always been for me not to talk about a problem or a pain.
03:58My ankle conditions.
04:00I remember there dancing in front of millions on a Saturday night.
04:05I think everyone who knows me knows that, one, I love music.
04:10And I love dancing.
04:12People questioning, you know, why can't she point her toes?
04:16And it's only a few people knew about my ankle conditions.
04:19I would train in trainers every single day and learn my steps.
04:26And not till we got there on a Saturday night would I then put my heels on
04:30and manage to get through the dance.
04:33So like everything, it doesn't stop you.
04:36You just find a way.
04:46This, my MBE.
04:53I think getting my MBE, it was, I think it was a thank you to my mum.
05:12Yeah.
05:15Yeah.
05:15Yeah, it's, it wasn't for me.
05:17It was for my mum and for my nan.
05:22For them.
05:30Well, I know what this one is now.
05:32I remember having conversations with people telling me that there was never going to be a place for me on
05:37TV because of my accent,
05:39because I'm from East London or, but that gave me more determination.
05:44I'm just constantly trying to better myself.
05:47And if that inspires young girls or young boys seeing what I'm doing, then that's great.
05:53But I suppose not once do I sit there and either speak about myself in that way or be like,
05:58yeah, like, look at me.
06:00Like I'm just out here doing me, I suppose.
06:03I'm a happy-go-lucky person.
06:05I have an outlook on life where, you know, I feel lucky to be achieving, to be doing, to have
06:13done something that I love, to continue now in my new career to be doing something that I love.
06:18And I'm just so grateful.
06:20And I think there's just a whole lot of other negative stuff going on in the world that, you know,
06:26I can continue to just smile and be happy because I'm in a place where I'm just like, wow.
06:31You know, it's like pinch yourself moment.
06:33So I'm just always reminding myself of that.
06:38There are those days.
06:39I've had those days.
06:41I'm like, oh, I am in pain.
06:43Don't let it stop you.
06:45Everyone will tell you I have a big yes to life mentality that certain people want to tell you no,
06:53put their negativity on you.
06:55And I'm like, you can say no, but I'm over here.
06:58I'm saying yes and finding a way.
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