Jermaine Jenas will not appear on TalkSport in the “immediate future” after being sacked from the BBC following complaints about workplace conduct, according to reports.
The ex-Premier League player began co-presenting a TalkSport drive time show with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant, moments after it was announced he had been removed from all BBC presenting line-ups.
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.
Jenas did not address news about his sacking during the live TalkSport broadcast and left the News UK building after the radio show in a car.
His scheduled appearance on Friday’s TalkSport drive time show has been cancelled, according to the Daily Mail.
Former England footballer Jenas, who co-hosted The One Show and Match Of The Day at the BBC, said there are “two sides to every story” after being sacked by the corporation.
He said he is “not happy” about the dismissal and will be speaking to his lawyers about it.
“Look, I can’t really talk about it,” he said in an interview with TalkSport News.
“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.
“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 texts 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.”
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.”
A BBC spokesperson confirmed to the PA news agency that Jenas “is no longer part of our presenting line-up”.
According to BBC News, the 41-year-old had his contract terminated after issues were raised involving digital communications, such as texts, in recent weeks.
BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore said she was aware of the situation but could give “no more information”, following an approach by PA after she spoke on a BBC panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
According to official figures published last year, Jenas earned £190,000 to £194,999 for his work on the FA Cup, Match Of The Day and the World Cup at the BBC.
While his salary for working on The One Show was not in the public domain, as it is produced by BBC Studios.
Jenas appears on TNT Sports’ 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.
The father-of-four joined The One Show in 2020 as a stand-in co-host following the departure of Matt Baker. He was made a permanent fixture the following year.
Jenas has been a regular pundit on sports programmes Match Of The Day and Match Of The Day 2 and a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live.
He has been widely regarded as a natural successor to replace Gary Lineker as host of Match Of The Day, but was noticeably absent from Saturday’s first episode of the new season.
During his football career, he appeared for England and played for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers.
Jenas also hosts Formula E race coverage for TNT Sports.
His agency MC Saatchi no longer represents him and his profile on the site now displays a “page not found” notice.
