BBC sacks presenter Jermaine Jenas after complaints

Jermaine Jenas made 21 football appearances for England

Jermaine Jenas, who presented The One Show and appeared on Match of the Day for the BBC, has been sacked by the corporation following complaints about workplace conduct.

The former footballer, 41, has been taken off air from both primetime shows.

BBC News understands his contract was terminated this week because of alleged issues relating to workplace behaviour.

Responding to the news, Jenas said there were "two sides to every story" but he would let his "lawyers deal with it".

The allegations involve digital communications including texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago.

In an interview with talkSport radio, he repeatedly said "I can't really talk about it" when asked about the claims being made.

"I, as you can probably see, I am not happy about it," he told the station.

Asked if he was surprised that any complaints had been made against him, Jenas said again: "I can't really talk 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."

Jenas was one of The One Show's permanent presenters, along with Alex Jones and Roman Kemp

A BBC spokesperson said: "We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up."

He was last on air for the corporation earlier in the summer.

Jenas, who is married and has four children, earned between £190,000 and £194,999 at the BBC for his work on the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.

His salary for his work on The One Show has not been made public because it is made by BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial production company, which doesn't reveal how much it pays presenters.

He became a permanent member of the flagship BBC One show's presenting team in 2021, appearing on the sofa beside long-time host Alex Jones.

Jenas also does work for talkSport, and was presenting a show on air when the news broke.

The radio station said it had been made aware of the story as the programme started - but a decision was made "with Jermaine that he should continue to present".

"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," it said.

"There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSport in the immediate future."

Jenas is also employed by TNT Sports, a group of paid television sports channels. They told the BBC they were not making any comment.

His profile was removed from his agent's website on Thursday evening.

Football and media career

Jenas made his footballing debut at the age of 17, and played for his boyhood team Nottingham Forest, then Spurs and Newcastle United. He went on to play 341 times, as well as making 21 appearances for England.

He retired in 2016 aged 32, although he had not played since 2014.

Jenas turned his attention to media work as a pundit while recovering from a knee injury and became a regular on Match of the Day, as well as BT Sport.

He started acting as a stand-in host on The One Show in 2020, following the departure of Matt Baker.

It was announced the next April that he and Boyzone star Ronan Keating would be given permanent positions - Jenas presenting with Jones from Mondays to Wednesdays and Keating on Thursdays and Fridays.

The former footballer said at the time that he was "really looking forward to joining as a full-time host".

Jenas was recently awarded Women's Football Ally of the Year at the 2024 Women's Football Awards.

He said at the time he had "always supported the women's game" and that his mother had raised him as a "strong advocate of women in sport".

In previous years, the award winner had been selected from a shortlist of nominees, but Jenas's award was given to him outright.

The BBC has approached the WFA for comment.

Jenas and a friend set up the Aquinas Foundation to help incentivise and raise the aspirations of young people in schools across Nottingham.

The charity is not currently commenting.

In December 2023 he collected an honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University.