What we know about Jermaine Jenas being sacked from BBC
Former footballer Jermaine Jenas has said there are "two sides to every story" after being sacked from the BBC following complaints about workplace conduct.
The ex-Premier League player, 41, has been removed from the presenting line-ups of The One Show and Match of the Day and had his contract terminated after issues were raised about his workplace conduct in recent weeks, BBC News reported.
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement: "We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line-up."
His agency MC Saatchi also no longer represents him and his profile on the site now displays a “page not found” notice.
Why did Jermaine Jenas get sacked?
Complaints were made against Jenas about his workplace misconduct to the BBC, however details of what is meant to have taken place remain unclear. The issues are said to involve 'digital communications, such as texts'.
Speaking to TalkSport News, Jenas was asked about the complaints, and whether it concerned more than one colleague, but he declined to elaborate. "I can’t talk about that 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."
What has Jermaine Jenas said?
Jenas was on air at talkSPORT when the news broke, but did not address news about his sacking during the live broadcast on Thursday evening and left the News UK building after the radio show in a car. TalkSport has since released a statement saying that Jenas would not be back on air.
A spokesperson from TalkSport told The Sun newspaper they were "made aware of a breaking story involving Jermaine as he went on air", but the decision was made, alongside Jenas, "that he should continue to present the show".
"There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on TalkSport in the immediate future," the spokesperson added.
Watch: Jermaine Jenas responds to BBC sacking
Jenas, who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, told talkSPORT News in a brief interview: "Look, I can’t really talk about it. I, as you can probably see, I am not happy about it. But currently, as it stands, I’m going to have to let the lawyers deal with it.
Read more: Match of the Day contenders to replace Gary Lineker after Jermaine Jenas sacked by BBC(The Telegraph, 2-min read)
"You know, there’s two sides to every story, as we know. So, that’s all I can say right now."
When asked about reports that he sent unsolicited messages to a female member of staff at The One Show, he replied: "Like I said, I’m not happy about this situation. You know, I’m going to be speaking to my lawyers about it is all I can say right now."
The One Show
The former Premier League player has been on The One Show as a co-presenter since 2020 but his contract has been terminated this week after four years. Jenas last appeared on The One Show alongside co-host Alex Jones on Wednesday, 22 July.
He first landed the role on The One Show as a stand-in after the departure of Matt Baker. It was the following year that he became a permanent star on the show. His salary for working on The One Show was not in the public domain, as it is produced by BBC Studios.
Match of the Day
The footballer will also no longer appear as a pundit on BBC evening show Match of the Day. His last appearance on Match of the Day was on 4 May. After an injury while playing football, the star had turned to a career in media as a football pundit as well as a presenter. As well as starring on Match of the Day, he is a regular on BT Sport. The BBC reported Jenas made £190,000 - £194,999 for his work involving the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.
He had high hopes of taking over from Gary Lineker on Match of the Day when the star eventually retires. He told MailOnline earlier this year: "I would obviously be up for it… It's Match of the Day and it would be a great opportunity.
"I haven't thought that far ahead but I hosted Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night, which was the first one I've ever done. I loved it, it felt comfortable to me, it felt normal, and I love doing The One Show as well."
Jenas made it clear he is ambitious when it comes to his career. He also told HELLO! magazine: "I have a lot of dreams and those dreams probably change every six months. I'm just a driven individual, I'm just trying to achieve the best I can possibly be in the field that I'm in.
"With that particular job, people saw what I was doing in that field and put one and one together and got two. 'Gary's coming to an end, Jermaine is doing great work, he's got to be in line'. But there's people like Gabby Logan and Alex Scott who would love that job."
During his football career, he played for a number of teams including Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Anton Villa and Queens Park Rangers. The TV personality retired from football in 2016.
Who is Jermaine Jenas's wife?
Jenas is married to his wife Ellie and they bring up four children together. The family live at their £1m Hertfordshire home. The couple have three children together, daughters Geneva and Olivia as well as their son Jacob. Jenas also has an older daughter Sancha from a previous relationship.
The presenter hailed his wife for being his "rock" through "tough times". He told The Belfast Telegraph in 2018: "It was love at first sight when I saw her, but not for her. She wasn't impressed by this cheeky, cocky guy who thought she'd be bowled over when I drove up in my Ferrari. She actually made me get rid of the car because it was too noisy!"
However, he won her over eventually and now they raise their family together. He added: "She's down-to-earth, not interested in football and was never impressed by any of the flashiness of it. She stabilised me, calmed me down, helped me grow up and mellow, and was totally supportive when everything was going downhill through my injuries."
