JILL SCOTT: What Football Can Teach Us | GREAT MOMENTS

Summary

Great Company with Jamie Laing Episode: JILL SCOTT: What Football Can Teach Us | GREAT MOMENTS Date: July 12, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this standout "Great Moments" episode, host Jamie Laing sits down with football legend Jill Scott to delve into her remarkable career, what it means to achieve the highest levels of sport, and the life lessons discovered on and off the pitch. The conversation focuses on pride, resilience, transitions, competitiveness, and how football has shaped Jill's outlook on life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Pride in Achievement and the British Attitude

• Jamie opens the conversation by asking about Jill’s record 161 caps for England and whether she can truly feel proud of her achievements, touching on the British tendency to downplay personal pride.
  • Jamie: "Are you truly proud of yourself, do you think?" [03:01]
• Jill reflects on closing the chapter on her football career and how only after stepping away did real pride settle in:
  • Jill: "I am proud that I did that ... just proud of being part of such a big thing like that." [03:21–04:14]

Transitioning Out of a Professional Career

• Jamie explores the emotional challenge of leaving professional sport.
• Jill recounts feeling at peace with her retirement after winning the Euros, but admits the body was "starting to get away" from her:
  • Jill: "It was just nice to probably just give that door a little push and be like, right, it's time for the next chapter." [04:19]
• She describes the sense of the next generation taking the game forward and her changing role in the squad's success.

The Mindset in High-Stakes Moments

• Jill describes her mentality entering the Euro final:
  • Jill: "My mindset was, you know what? Today I'm just going to try and make you average, just get in your face, rough you up. And that was kind of my game plan, really." [05:44]
• The bonding and the unique feeling of victory:
  • Jill: "I think we sat on that pitch for about an hour and a half after just looking at the... just thinking, wow. And I remember thinking, we're never going to get this moment again." [06:52]

The Proudest Moment and the Human Side of Glory

• Jamie asks if the Euros win is Jill's proudest moment.
• Jill reflects humorously and honestly:
  • Jill: "I said it was the best day of my life and it definitely will be. And I actually said to [my partner] on stage, I am sorry, Shelley, like, if we want to get married or have children... it'll probably still be the best day of my life. Is that a bad thing you say?" [07:33]

Vulnerability, Mistakes, and Regret

• Discussion of letting oneself and the team down after a sending off in a cup final at Wembley during COVID—reflecting on the loneliness and self-reproach in these moments:
  • Jill: "It felt like the longest walk of my life... I could hear every kick of the ball, every goal that went in... that was a moment where I was like, I've let the team down here." [09:35–10:33]
• She recalls another sending off, describing the intensity and the split-second nature of mistakes:
  • Jill: "Basically I got sent off. That was against Arsenal, but that's my only two sending offs. That's not too bad, is it?" [11:52–12:26]

Competitiveness: Nature, Nurture, and Self-Improvement

• Jamie traces Jill's competitive streak to her childhood, her older brother, and her early success as a runner.
• Jill explains her rivalry with her sibling and how her competitiveness is rooted in wanting to be her best:
  • Jill: "I think when I speak about being competitive, I always wanted to win, but I think it was more I just wanted to do the best that I could do. I never wanted to, like let myself down." [13:02]
• She credits advice from a former football manager:
  • Jill: "Whatever you do, just look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and think, could I have done any more today? And that stuck with us." [13:53]

Comparison, Social Media, and Supporting Others

• Jamie shares a lesson from therapy: focus on improvement against yourself, not others.
• The talk turns to social media and comparison culture. Jill emphasizes valuing other people's successes and the importance of actually telling people when they've impressed you:
  • Jill: "If we all do well, we can get to whatever you perceive to be the top together... I just always wanted to be a better version of myself." [14:45]
  • Jill: "I'll meet people and I'll go, you know what somebody said to me last week, like, how beautiful you look and you're doing so well..." [15:59]
• Jamie echoes this with the importance of spreading positivity and direct compliments.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Pride in Milestones:
  Jill: "I am very, very proud of that stat. When I reflect... I never thought I'd play one game for England, never mind 161." [02:42]
• On Stepping Down:
  Jill: "My knee was starting to swell, and I was carrying a lot of injuries, so it was just nice to probably just give that door a little push and be like, right, it's time for the next chapter." [04:19]
• On Competitiveness:
  Jill: "I was a really, really bad loser. But I think when I speak about being competitive, I always wanted to win, but I think it was more I just wanted to do the best that I could do." [13:02]
• On Mistakes:
  Jill: "It felt like the longest walk of my life... I could hear every kick of the ball, every goal that went in and yeah, I think that was a moment where I was like, I've let the team down here." [10:12]
• On Supporting Others:
  Jill: "I love to see other people doing well. I'm like, oh, that's brilliant ... I do think it's an important thing and I don't know why we don't do it as much now." [15:59–16:24]
• Humorous Candidness:
  Jill (on her infamous Euros outburst): "I did say, 'off, you prick.' And you know what? I don't even swear in day to day life... But I must have just been so passionate, so emotional and then... I think it was just an outburst of passion." [08:29]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Jill on Pride & Closing Football Chapter: [02:42–04:14]
• Mindset Going Into the Euro Final (attitude, tactics): [05:27–05:44]
• Experiencing Victory & Reflection: [06:46–07:15]
• Biggest Regrets & Red Cards: [09:30–12:26]
• Competitiveness & Early Life: [12:26–14:13]
• Advice About Self-Competition & Social Media: [14:13–15:59]
• Importance of Complimenting and Supporting Others: [15:59–16:24]

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Overall Tone & Takeaway

The conversation maintains a warm, candid, and often humorous tone as Jill openly discusses career highs and lows, the impact of legacy, and the importance of self-reflection. The episode offers an inspiring take on resilience, letting go, and finding pride in achievement—not just in sport, but in how we treat ourselves and others.

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For the full depth of Jill Scott's stories and wisdom, check out the full episode via the links in the show notes.

Transcript

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[Jamie Laing]

Hello everyone, I'm Jamie Laing and this is Great Moments. Hey everyone. I hope you're well and welcome back to Great Moments. Now if you're new here, this is the place where I'm going to bring you a standout moment from one of my favorite great comedy conversations. These are the moments that have stayed with me long after the recording and I hope you can take something away from them now. If today's conversation leaves you wanting more, you can find the link to the full episode in the show notes. So sit back, settle in and here it is. You've had 161 caps.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

For England.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah. It's a lot.

[Jamie Laing]

That is mad.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah. I can't believe it actually sometimes when I sit and talk about it because when I was a young girl who just fell in love with the game of football. I never thought I'd play one game for England, never mind 161. So, yeah, I am very, very proud of that stat. When I reflect, are you actually proud?

[Jamie Laing]

Cause sometimes we just kind of say, I do this occasionally, which is where I think it's the Britishness in this. But also being a Northern Brit as well, it's even more so you don't do it right, which is where, as long as you're proud. And I go, yeah, of course I'm proud of myself, but actually, I don't really know if I'm proud of myself. I just kind of said, are you truly proud of yourself, do you think?

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, with that one, I am, I think because. And maybe it's because you're still going in your profess. Whereas that part of my kind of life is over now, football. So I feel like I've closed the door on it. And maybe when I played, I was like, wow, I'm playing for England. But I was so focused on just giving it everything that I had to put in good performances to try and contribute to a team win. But I think now that that chapter's been closed for three years, I think I've been able to reflect, kind of seeing little clips back of, like, tournaments, the Euros win and stuff like that. And I think I can probably finally sit here now, and I am proud that I did that. And don't get us wrong, I mean, I'm proud of the whole team. I'm proud of women's football, especially reflecting back on the journey to getting the Euros win, but probably just proud of being part of such a big thing like that.

[Jamie Laing]

When you have to close the door on something.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

How hard is that?

[Jill Scott]

It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. From the sense that it was the perfect ending for me, the fact that we got that gold medal at Wembley, I think it felt like the right time to close the door. Felt like if I was closing it after that, it would have been like a rusty clause where my body couldn't go anymore. My knee was starting to swell, and I was carrying a lot of injuries, so it was just nice to probably just give that door a little push and be like, right, it's time for the next chapter. And I knew deep down that tournament I didn't play a lot. I was on the bench and in training. I felt like the game was just starting to get away from us a little bit.

[Jamie Laing]

Can you feel that as a professional? A little bit, you can start to go, wow.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah. I think when you've got players like Ellis, Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, who were younger and they're coming through and they're dancing around you at times like you're not there. And I'm like, my head really wanted to do something that my body probably couldn't anymore, but I just felt extremely lucky that I'd made that squad. And the fact that I played about 35 minutes in the final, I kind of like that I was involved to a certain extent.

[Jamie Laing]

When you went onto the pitch for that final against Germany, did you, did you know in your head you're like, right, I'm just gonna, you had three things and I'm gonna run, that's okay. But I'm gonna just be a bit aggressive. I'm gonna get someone know that they've played against me, they're gonna feel a bit like roughed up.

[Jill Scott]

I was dying to get on because Kira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, they'd literally ran every single minute in midfield. So they'd done about six, seven games. And my legs felt fresh because obviously I hadn't played a lot. And I could see they were starting to cramp a little bit and rightfully so. They'd covered so much ground, probably 11k game they covered. So I was like, get us on. Like, I want to help, I want to help. So I was excited to come onto the pitch and I was like, I'm just going to run as much as I can, get in people's faces, make it difficult. And I think that was my game really. When I look back, I played against some of the best players in the world. Alexia, who plays for Spain and Barcelona, Bon Mati. And these were players that were absolutely brilliant. But my mindset was, you know what? Today I'm just going to try and make you average, just get in your face, rough you up. And that was kind of my game plan really. So yeah, to get on the pitch in that final, I just wanted to run for the girls that had ran for so long.

[Jamie Laing]

When you win something that big, yeah, it's like an out of body experience, right?

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, it, it was just, it was ridiculous. I remember me, Lucy Bronze, Demi Storks. I think we sat on that pitch for about an hour and a half after just looking at the F and just thinking, wow. And I remember thinking, we're never going to get this moment again. And then the girls go and do it again three years later. Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

God, this is the best team ever. No one's going to do this again.

[Jill Scott]

I think I remember seeing them girls take this in because this is once in a lifetime and they're probably thinking, we're going to go and win it again in three years time. So maybe I was just talking to myself then. But yeah, best feeling in the world.

[Jamie Laing]

Do you think that looking back at it is that proudest moment of your life?

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, yeah. And I think whatever happens, I said to my. I actually said this in my speech the other day when I. I won this award and my partner Shelly was there and I said it was the best day of my life and it definitely will be. And I actually said to her on stage, I am sorry, Shelley, like, if we want to get married or have children, hopefully I was like, it'll probably still be the best day of my life. Is that a bad thing you say?

[Jamie Laing]

No, not at all. I know you've mentioned this before, but you've. You got caught on camera.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah. Although that sentence could go anywhere. So I'm glad, I'm glad it's going where it's going.

[Jamie Laing]

Oh, I don't know what you were thinking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're caught on camera doing what?

[Jill Scott]

How did you get that video?

[Jamie Laing]

Caught on camera shouting something at a German player.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

Can you, can you repeat it?

[Jill Scott]

What did you say? Is this podcast?

[Jamie Laing]

Oh, yeah. You can say anything you want on this.

[Jill Scott]

Okay, so I did say, off, you prick. And you know what? I don't even swear in day to day life. Like, honestly, I used to live. My house used to be like, right on a park. And if the kids were swearing in the street, I'd be like, watch your language. There's like smaller kids around and you shouldn't be swearing. So I hate swearing. But in that moment, I felt like the camera did not do me justice that day. So basically she had my leg trapped and I couldn't get away. So I was just getting so angry and then I stood up and I don't even think them words are in my vocabulary. I actually don't know where they came from. But I must have just been so passionate, so emotional and then. Yeah. And I remember getting home a couple of weeks later. I was probably partying for that amount of time. And I think I told one of the kids on the park, I was like, what's your language? And they were like, you can talk. I won't be seeing that ever again. But yeah, I think it was just a outburst of passion.

[Jamie Laing]

Has there ever been a time when you felt like you did let yourself down?

[Jill Scott]

Probably when you've just asked us that question. Suddenly like there was a couple of times in my career when I got sent off and that was probably more the case of letting myself down, but also the team. So I remember we had a cup final at Wembley. It was actually when Covid was. So there was nobody there, but we were playing this game, man City, Chelsea in the cup final and I actually got sent off and we lost that game. And it's a long walk down the tunnel and back to the changing rooms when there's a crowd there. I tell you now, it's so long when there's no crowd there. It felt like the longest walk of my life.

[Jamie Laing]

And you're just hearing your studs go down.

[Jill Scott]

Oh, honestly. And then you sat in the changing rooms and usually you can't hear anything because of the crowd, but I could hear every kick of the ball, every goal that went in and yeah, I think that was a moment where I was like, I've let the team down here because if we'd kept 11 on the pitch, pitch, I believe we would have won that game. So probably when you ask that question, that's the first thing that comes into my head.

[Jamie Laing]

Wow. It reminds me and I don't know why I know you're one of your heroes, David Beckham.

[Jill Scott]

Yes. I love David Beckham.

[Jamie Laing]

Oh, man, he was. Yeah. To him and Johnny Wilkinson because obviously I'm a rugby player, as you know.

[Jill Scott]

Number 10. Did you do the kicks?

[Jamie Laing]

I did the kicks. Number 10, fly half. It was a fullback. Just, you know, just. I was multi talented, just on the field, put me anywhere. But that moment I still remember. When he got the red card.

[Jill Scott]

Yes.

[Jamie Laing]

In the World Cup.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

And you know, he spoke about it in his document. He's went through a whole hell of it. But just forget about what fans think and what everyone thinks outside of the media. Letting your team down in that moment when you make a mistake and you know it's just a moment of frustration or anger or. And you lash out or do something stupid.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

And you just realize that, why have I done that?

[Jill Scott]

I must say this shouldn't have been a red card. Just to. Just to clarify, it was a really bad refereeing decision. What did you do of them was actually, yeah, I did do that once actually. That was my other sending off. But I didn't put my head back and forward. I just kind of put it forward. I don't know if that's any better.

[Jamie Laing]

But yeah, hold on, hold on.

[Jill Scott]

So let's go. I wasn't going to Bring this one up. That's why I went to the other one.

[Jamie Laing]

Okay, so let's park the other one for a second.

[Jill Scott]

Okay? Yeah, it's a bit boring, that one.

[Jamie Laing]

So you headbutted someone?

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, but again, like Zidane style. No, again. The girl was kind of like punching us in the stomach at the time and then she put her head towards me. And I must say it is a natural human reaction. If I put my head to you now, you would meet my. I'm not saying you'd head, Butters, but you would meet my head. So in some kind of contact, I'm not getting out of this. But yeah, basically I got sent off. That was against Arsenal, but that's my only two sending offs. That's not too bad, is it?

[Jamie Laing]

Do you think you've always been competitive? Because I say that because when you, you were a cross country runner when you were younger and you won the London Mini Marathon when you were 14 years old.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

You obviously played a lot of football. Where does that competitive nature come from?

[Jill Scott]

I'm not too sure. I grew up with an older brother who was, I was going to say about three years older than us. He still is three years older than

[Jamie Laing]

us because it does change as we get older.

[Jill Scott]

He's now younger than me, everyone thinks we're twins and I'm like, he's three years older than me. But I think I always wanted to be better than him. And he was fast, he could play football and whatever he could do, I wanted to do better. Even if we were playing like FIFA on the computer or anything like that. I was a really, really bad loser. But I think when I speak about being competitive, I always wanted to win, but I think it was more I just wanted to do the best that I could do. I never wanted to, like let myself down. And that's something that's probably stuck with us. Like I put a lot of work in to whatever I'm doing because I just want to do the best that I can do. And I remember football manager saying to us one year, he said, whatever you do, just look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and think, could I have done any more today? And that stuck with us. It was Nick Cushion who was Manchester City women's manager and that stuck with us. So I like to think, like, I don't actually stand in front of the mirror every night and go, jill, could you have been better today? It's something that I always think, did I prepare right? Did I do the best that I could and yeah, so I think it's a competitive kind of nature with myself in a way as well.

[Jamie Laing]

The healthiest one.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think so.

[Jamie Laing]

I. Because I. I remember speaking to. With a therapist and the therapist said to me, and I said, I think the problem with like, life at the moment is like. And I was probably around 29, 30, I was like, I'm comparing myself to so many people.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

And like, people who I work with or people who I know and people are doing better or worse. I'm constantly looking what people are doing. And she said, why are you doing that? I said, well, because that's. That I compare and I see what I do. She says, no, you just got to compare yourself to yourself.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

If you're doing better than you were doing yesterday or better than you were doing last year, that's the most important thing. That means you're doing better. So keep doing that.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah. And I think we can get caught up because of social media now, like, constantly thinking our lives aren't good enough and comparing to everybody else. Like, somebody does a post and you think, oh, they had a better week than me or they'll put something on. You think, oh, well, I haven't got that. But I think I've always been quite good at, like, I love to see other people doing well. I'm like, oh, that's brilliant. And I think in football, I used to always say, you don't compete with each other. Like, if we all do well, we can get to whatever you perceive to be the top together. And yeah, it might happen at different times for different people, but I just always wanted to be a better version, version of myself. And I think in society today we probably could be better at supporting others and that. I hear loads of people when they say, oh, so and so did really well and our so and so looks great. And I'm the person that'll go and find that person and tell them, like, I'll meet people and I'll go, you know what somebody said to me last week, like, how beautiful you look and you're doing so well and Because I think we're not very good at actually telling the person sometimes. So I think when people meet us for the first time, I think I'm a bit weird because I'm like, you know, so and so from down the road, they said, you look beautiful. Last week on telly Joe.

[Jamie Laing]

That's amazing, though. My buddy told me the same thing. He said, what I do now, if I'm talking about someone.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

With someone. I always message and say, we've just been talking about you. Oh, we think you're amazing at this. That and I was like that's such a nice thing because we love being told nice things and we don't really. We forget to say to people, oh my God, a friend was saying you're looking beautiful. The way you played was amazing. Or the fact that you inspired me here. That's a really. And that knock on effect is so nice.

[Jill Scott]

Yeah, I do think it's an important thing and I don't know why we don't do it as much now. I'm not too sure, but I do try to.

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[Jill Scott]

Again,

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[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

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[Jamie Laing]

Com.