Directions Fire Red won't take to roots!

Are your roots not bleached? Direct dyes don't take well to hair that is super healthy. You need to open the cuticle more, so try washing with bicarbonate of soda, or pre-softening with peroxide.

I'm too scared of bleaching my roots, my hair had a very bad reaction to bleach recently and a lot broke off. Had to have about 5" off because the ends were absolutely fried 🙁

Either of the above methods should work, but a quick bleach bath would be better.

Yep, you aren't going to get a good and matching result without at least pre-softening the roots. Bleach bathing with a low volume peroxide does a lot less damage than your average home box dye, so don't be scared of it.

Ok will have to look into bleach baths! I'm a bit worried about getting the bleach onto the top back of my hair which is the most damaged and broken off. Would live xxl pillarbox red semi work to cover the roots?

Do you mean if you bleach bath first? Semis do vary by brand as to how well they stick to virgin hair, but they always wash off much more quickly than when applied to processed hair.
You would need someone to help you with the back, to apply the bleach mix carefully and avoid overlapping on to the previously bleached areas.

Ok thanks for your advice ladies! I will look into bleach baths, ideally I really don't wanna have to use bleach in any form because I'm trying to repair and grow my hair again, but can't leave these weird gold roots to keep growing!

There is no way to lighten hair without some degree of damage (just not physically possible as you are removing part of the hairs structure) but pre-softening with peroxide or a quick bleach bath are as gentle as it gets.
A bleach bath is a weak bleach mix because it is diluted with shampoo, effectively halving its potency. Plus you only need to leave it on for a few minutes as the goal is to aid absorption of dye rather than lighten.
Manic panic vampire red sticks well to unprocessed hair, you could try that.