Jermaine Jenas ‘speaking to lawyers’ after BBC sacking

Former Match of the Day and One Show star Jermaine Jenas has said he is “speaking to his lawyers” after being sacked by the BBC for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a female colleague.

Jenas said there were “two sides to every story” and he would let his “lawyers deal with it”.

The ex-footballer’s contract was terminated this week following allegations involving unsolicited digital communications including texts to a member of a production team.

The issue was brought to the BBC’s attention a few weeks ago. The corporation announced his departure on Thursday, but didn’t give further details of the allegations.

Later that day, he was asked about the claims on talkSport radio, but said: “I can’t really talk about it.”

He told the station: “As you can probably see, I am not happy about it.”

Asked if he was surprised that any complaints had been made against him, Jenas replied: “I can’t really talk right now.

“I’ve just got to leave this to a team of lawyers at the minute who are, yeah, I suppose just managing the situation,” he said.

“This is… yeah, it’s tough, you know. But I’ve got to listen to my lawyers.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up.”

He was last on air for the corporation earlier in the summer.

When the news of his BBC exit broke, he was on air as a guest presenter on the talkSport drivetime show.

A statement from the station said: “We were made aware of a breaking news story involving Jermaine Jenas as he went on air for a one-off presenting slot on talkSport Drive.

“We made a decision – with Jermaine – that he should continue to present the show.

“Given the array of serious allegations being reported as the story continues to evolve, it’s for Jermaine as a private individual to address them in the way he chooses.

“There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSport in the immediate future.”

Jenas also works for pay TV channels TNT Sports as a football pundit and co-commentator, and fronts their Formula E racing coverage.

TNT has not commented about his future.

Jenas’s profile was removed from his agent’s website on Thursday evening.

His firing from the BBC came three months after he received a prize for Women’s Football Ally of the Year at the 2024 Women’s Football Awards.

He said at the time he had “always supported the women’s game” and that his mother had raised him as a “strong advocate of women in sport”.

In previous years, the award winner had been selected from a shortlist of nominees, but Jenas’s award was given to him outright.

At the time of writing, the Women’s Football Awards website has been taken down for maintenance. The BBC has approached the organisation for comment.

Jenas made his footballing debut at the age of 17, and played for his boyhood team Nottingham Forest, then Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United. He went on to play 341 times, as well as making 21 appearances for England.

He retired in 2016 aged 32, although he had not played since 2014.

Jenas turned his attention to media work, as a pundit while recovering from a knee injury and became a regular on Match of the Day, as well as BT Sport.

He became a permanent member of the flagship BBC One show’s presenting team in 2021, appearing on the sofa beside long-time host Alex Jones.

He started acting as a stand-in host on The One Show in 2020 following the departure of Matt Baker.

It was announced the next April that he and Boyzone star Ronan Keating would be given permanent positions, with Jenas presenting alongside Alex Jones from Mondays to Wednesdays.

He said at the time that he was “really looking forward to joining as a full-time host”.

Jenas was also the face of Match of the Day spin-off show MOTDx until that was cancelled in 2023.

Jenas, who is married and has four children, earned between £190,000 and £194,999 at the BBC in the last financial year for his work on coverage of football including the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.

His salary for his work on The One Show has not been made public because it is made by BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial production company, which doesn’t reveal how much it pays presenters.

He also set up the Aquinas Foundation with a friend to help incentivise and raise the aspirations of young people in schools across Nottingham.

The charity is not currently commenting.

In December 2023 he collected an honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University.