'Multiple women' come forward over Jermaine Jenas' 'inappropriate behaviour' (2024)

Multiple women are said to have come forward with allegations surrounding Jermaine Jenas’ ‘inappropriate behaviour’.

The 41-year-old – who was the face ofThe One Show and aMatch of the Dayregular – has been taken off air and sacked by the BBC after complaints were made and allegations he ‘sent unsolicited texts to a female staff member at The One Show’.

The BBC confirmed to Metro.co.uk on August 22: ‘We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line up.’

Jenas was sacked after allegations were made ‘by a female member of staff on The One Show’, according toThe Sun.

The publication reports that she claimed she received unsolicited communications over text.

It’s since been claimed that multiple women have come forward, amid a reported probe into digital communications said to have been sent by him.

A spokesperson for Jenas told the publication yesterday evening: ‘Right now I can’t talk about it. I can tell you I’m not happy – there are two sides to every story – and I’m going to be speaking with my lawyers on the issue.’

It’s now also been claimed his sacking was ‘shrouded in secrecy’.

A source said told The Sun: ‘This latest incident of alleged misconduct in the workplace is the last thing the BBC needed. It has shocked, and rocked, everyone.

‘The first complaint was raised after Jermaine flirtily messaged a female member of staff onThe One Show, and she raised her misgivings in a formal capacity.

‘The BBC knows it cannot now ignore concerns or complaints so after immediate routine enquiries the decision was taken to take him off air, and terminate his contract.

‘They acted swiftly and decisively.

‘In the wake of the Huw Edwards andStrictly Come Dancing scandals— although, to be clear, Jermaine’s conduct is absolutely nothing like Huw’s and there is no suggestion of illegality whatsoever — the BBC cannot be seen to be slow to take action.

‘In this case, Jermaine was the fall guy and was fired.

‘He has yet to say his side of the story but he has made it known privately to friends he is unhappy.’

The insider went on to claim that other BBC staff including presenters have been asked not to contact him while legal matters are ongoing.

They said: ‘Presenters, cast and crew have all been asked not to contact him whilst legal matters are ongoing — as a result a lot of Chinese whispers have been circulating.

‘Not even top talent likeAlex Jones,Alan ShearerorGary Linekerknew about this. It was shrouded in secrecy.’

In an uncomfortable radio interview with talkSPORT on Thursday night, Jenas spoke out for the first time and reiterated that he ‘can’t really talk about it’ but is ‘not happy’ and will be getting his lawyers involved.

Jenas declined to elaborate about what the complaint about him related to, whether it concerned more than one colleague, if he was surprised a complaint was made against him, when he was first aware that a complaint had been made and when the BBC told him he was being sacked.

He also declined to answer when asked if legal proceedings were under way, whether he felt he would be able to continue working in sports presenting, or the industry as a whole, or if he felt he should apologise to anyone about his departure from the BBC.

‘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.’

At one moment, the Talk Sport interviewer said: ‘Can I just add, Jermaine, I can see that you are absolutely fuming,’ to which Jenas replied ‘yeah’.

The sacked presenter then cut in to ask: ‘Is this still on air?’

When the interviewer responded with ‘yeah we are still recording’, Jenas said: ‘Turn it off.’

Jenas was talking on radio channel talkSPORT Drive from 4pm until 7pm as the news broke, but he continued the show without mentioning his BBC sacking while chatting with Jermaine Pennant about football.

TalkSPORT sent Metro.co.uk the following statement: ‘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.’

Mail Sport reports that he was due to appear on the show on Friday, but that is said to no longer be the case.

His agency MC Saatchi reportedly no longer represents Jenas and his profile on the site now displays a ‘page not found’ notice.

A source claimed to The Sun: ‘This is a categorical nightmare for theBBC.

‘A complaint was raised concerning Jermaine’s behaviour.

‘After some immediate routine enquiries the decision was taken to take him off air, and terminate his contract.

‘The BBC’s new Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski has been heavily involved in this whole process, and is adamant that his new house is firmly in order, and there are no skeletons.

‘At present, the feeling is he won’t be back on the BBC.’

His contract was terminated earlier this week according to BBC News, who reported that it followed allegations involving digital communications such as texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago.

As the news broke of his sacking on 22 August, BBC Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski was said to have emailed his staff from his iPhone at 3.39pm saying simply: ‘Hi all, I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC.’

Jenas earned £190,000 – £194,999 at the BBC for his work on the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.

The One Show aired hours after the news broke with Jenas’ former co-host Alex Jones presenting alongside Clara Amfo, but the pair did not acknowledge the news.

According to journalist Scott Bryan on X, the BBC One programme’s official Facebook page has swiftly replaced their former banner which was said to picture hosts Jones, Roman Kemp and Jenas. Now it just shows a blank pale pink image.

Former England football player Jenas, who is married with children, joined The One Show in 2020 where he began co-presenting with Jones and he became a permanent fixture a year later.

After retiring from football in 2016 – with stints at Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur – Jenas began working as a Match of the Day pundit, and was hotly tipped to be Gary Lineker’s future replacement.

He last presented The One Show on July 22 alongside Jones, and appeared on the Match of the Day on May 4 – not featuring on the first episode of the new season.

Jenas also hosts Formula E race coverage for TNT Sports, and football coverage from time to time, but it is understood he is not scheduled to appear for a number of weeks.

It is understood TNT Sports was unaware of the status of Jenas’s employment with the BBC.

Another source told the Mail: ‘It all came as a massive shock but his colleagues have now been told the news and he won’t be back.

‘His colleagues are stunned, they didn’t see it coming at all. They were kept in the dark to start with. They couldn’t believe it when they found out.’

Jenas has four children – three with his wife Ellie Penfold and one from a previous relationship – and lives in Hertfordshire.

This comes at a particularly turbulent time for the BBC after one of their once most revered presenters – the now disgraced Huw Edwards – pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, having been arrested in November.

Edwards was the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, earning £475,000 and £479,999 from 2023 to 2024. The amount he earned from November last year – the time he was arrested – is around £200,000.

The broadcaster is nowseeking the return of salary paid since his arrest.

Over on Strictly Come Dancing, accusations by former contestants are also hitting the headlines over their alleged treatment at the hands of various professional dancers on the show.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to the BBC for comment.

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