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Jermaine Jenas has now admitted that he acted “inappropriately” during his time at the BBC and that he “made a mistake”, which cost him his job with the broadcaster.
The former footballer was sacked from the BBC in August 2024 following allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour and complaints of “unsolicited messages” that he later apologised for.
The 41-year-old held numerous presenting roles at the BBC on flagship shows such as Match of the Day and The One Show. At one stage, Jenas had been tipped to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day.
Jenas is currently employed by talkSport and will commentate on the FA Cup fourth-round tie between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (9 February), a decision that has reportedly sparked concern among staff.
Ahead of his return to the commentary booth, Jenas has spoken to the radio station where he was asked by Shebahn Aherne if he could agree that his actions at the BBC were “wildly inappropriate”.
The former England international concurred, stating: “Yeah, of course. That’s what taking responsibility is about. It was inappropriate.”
Jenas continued: “I made a mistake. It was a mistake that is something that me and my wife and my family have to deal with.
“I think that the big thing here is that your career is one thing. I worked 10 years post-retirement from being a footballer and I can take it as far back as I want from starting from nothing to becoming a footballer to getting myself in a very fortunate position to work on television.
“It’s a lot of hard work that you put into the job, but at the same time, it can be taken away from you like that. That’s one thing that I’ve recognised.
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“When it is taken away from you like that, the only people there for you is your family and friends and it’s the people that are really close to you. That’s what has been my biggest support system during this period of time.
“Me and my wife have had some honest conversations. Me and my family have had some honest conversations and that’s who this is really between.
“So moving forward, that’s where my focus is, making sure that my kids are okay, my wife is supported and that I’m continually working on improving myself.”
Aherne also asked Jenas how the situation has impacted his relationship with his wife and the women in his life.
He said: “When you have been living in a way that’s not fit really for the position that you have, and you put other people’s lives in a position that they didn’t ask for, kids are going to school with press following them, wife’s getting followed to the gym and to work.
“I put other people in a scenario that they didn’t ask to be put into. Granted, some people will look at it and go, well, we’ve had some good times with you and we’ll suffer the bad times, but it’s not about that.
“It’s about me realising that they didn’t deserve to be in that position.”
Jenas played more than 400 games in his career for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. He also earned 21 caps for England.
