A YOUNGER One Show staffer was in awe of Jermaine Jenas’ star quality before reporting the flirtatious texts that got him sacked, it is understood.
Match of The Day and One Show star Jenas was sacked from the BBC after women complained about his behavior in the workplace.
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Jermaine Jenas was filmed getting into a car last night Credit: Peter Jordan
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Jenas with his wife Ellie Penfold Credit: 2024 Karwai Tang
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Jenas was named ‘Allied Player of the Year’ at this year’s Women’s Football Awards Credit: 2024 Getty Images
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Jenas playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2005. Credit: Getty
The Sun understands that a junior member of staff at The One Show – who may have been impressed by his star quality – has raised concerns about the alleged flirtatious texts.
Other women have come forward amid an investigation into DMs allegedly sent by the married ex-footballer, 41.
A source said last night: “The presenters, cast and crew have been asked not to contact him while legal matters are pending.”
They added: “As a result, there are a lot of Chinese whispers circulating.
“Even top talents like Alex Jones, Alan Shearer or Gary Lineker didn’t know about this.”
A source said: “It was shrouded in secrecy. It shocked and shook everything.”
Jenas’ dismissal was led by the BBC’s new director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski.
It comes weeks after he was named Ally of the Year at the Women’s Football Awards.
He is understood to have told his wife of 13 years, Ellie, about the claims, which he is said to have left him “deeply unhappy”.
It is understood that he stands by him.
A source said: “This latest incident of alleged workplace misconduct is the last thing the BBC needed.
“The first complaint was raised after Jermaine flirtatiously texted a member of staff on The One Show.
“She expressed her doubts in an official capacity. The BBC knows it cannot now ignore concerns or complaints.
“So after immediate routine testing, the decision was made to remove him from the program and terminate his contract.
“They acted quickly and decisively. In this case, Jermaine is the culprit and he was fired.
“Although there is no indication of wrongdoing, the BBC cannot be seen as being slow to take action.
“He hasn’t told his side of the story yet, but he has privately let friends know he’s unhappy.”
The Sun broke the story on our website yesterday afternoon — moments before Jenas started his talkSPORT Drive show.
Within four minutes of the news breaking, Mr Kay-Jelski emailed BBC staff.
He wrote: “Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas no longer works for the BBC.”
Last night talkSPORT said there were no plans for the star to broadcast “in the near future”.
It is understood Jenas has instructed lawyers and is devastated by the turn of events.
He lost his annual salary of £190,000 to £194,999 for working on the FA Cup, Match of the Day and World Cup.
His work on The One Show is for BBC Studios, so that salary is not in the public domain.
A giant poster featuring him alongside BBC Sport colleagues Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer has been removed from Media City’s Manchester headquarters.
And Jenas was no longer listed for match of the day in the TV industry database IMDb.
The alleged complaints came to light after the Euros where he was a pundit and commentator.
He was last on air covering Spain’s semi-final victory over France on July 9.
Earlier this month he, Ellie and one of his four children were on holiday in Marbella.
Jenas last presented The One Show alongside Alex Jones on 22 July and last appeared on the Match Of The Day panel on 4 May.
He was seen by many as the natural successor to replace Lineker as host of MOTD, but he was not at the new season opener on Saturday.
But he was on air on Saturday – commentating for TNT Sports on Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Ipswich.
And on August 2, he took to Instagram after presenting a highlight of the Formula E season alongside Nicki Shields.
Jenas has only posted three pictures on Instagram since May, compared to 73 last year.
He also parted ways with his longtime agents, MC Saatchi. He no longer appears on their website.
In an interview with The Sun in October 2021, Jenas said he would like to replace Lineker as Match Of The Day presenter.
He said: “It’s the biggest job in television, and if I ever got the chance, of course I’d say yes.”
The following month, Lineker told The Sun: “Jermaine is my natural successor – I think he’s doing well.”
The BBC said last night: “We can confirm that Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of the presenting line-up.”
Jenas said through a spokesman: “I can’t talk about it right now. I can tell you I’m not happy.
“There are two sides to every story and I will discuss that with my lawyers.”
talkSPORT said: “We were made aware of the latest story involving Jermaine as he went on air.
“We made a decision – with Jermaine – that he should continue to lead the series.
“As the story continues to unfold, a number of serious allegations are emerging.
“It’s up to Jermaine as a private individual to address them in the way he chooses.
“There are no plans for Jermaine to appear as a presenter on talkSPORT in the near future.”
The face of football
JERMAINE Jenas made his debut for Nottingham Forest in 2001, aged just 17.
The midfielder played for Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and QPR.
In his career, he scored a total of 39 goals in 341 league appearances and won the League Cup with Spurs in 2008.
Jenas also made 21 appearances for the senior England team, scoring once.
He was 19 years old when he played for the first game in February 2003 and was named PFA Young Player of the Year that season.
Injuries slowed his progress, and he officially announced his retirement in 2016 on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He became a pundit, first for ITV Sport before joining BT Sport and Match Of The Day.
In 2020, Jenas started co-hosting The One Show, and a year later he became one of its permanent hosts.
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