Jermaine Jenas believes he was harshly treated by the BBC because of the corporation’s handling of the Huw Edwards scandal. The ex-Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder, 42, was sacked from the presenting line-ups of Match of the Day and The One Show last year following complaints about workplace conduct.
Jenas apologised to two former female colleagues for sending “inappropriate messages,” but insisted they were “between two consenting adults” and that his behaviour was not illegal. He also stepped away from talkSPORT presenting duties, only to return to the station in February this year, insisting he was “taking responsibility” for his actions and had become a “better person.” During an appearance on the Dressing Room Podcast with fellow ex-players Joe Cole, Carlton Cole and Wayne Bridge, Jenas addressed his treatment by the BBC. He insisted that while he had done wrong, he claimed the broadcaster “had their own agenda” in the wake of their handling of disgraced newsreader Edwards, who was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, last year after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children.
The corporation was informed that Edwards had been arrested in November 2023 but continued to employ the veteran broadcaster until April 2024, when he resigned on medical advice, before pleading guilty to the charges in July. A statement from the corporation said if Edwards had “been up front when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money.”
Jenas said: “In terms of the reason why I got sacked… essentially, you go through history with regard to what I’d done – people don’t get sacked for that. People don’t get sacked for two adults consensually texting each other.
“I personally feel the BBC had their own agenda. They knew they were in a serious problem because of how they handled the Huw Edwards situation and people historically at the BBC, how they handled everything prior to me.
“And it was a great opportunity to go, ‘Let’s make an example of the fact we, at the BBC, don’t tolerate X, Y and Z. We’re going to use Jermaine, who’s a big enough name to showcase that.’
“And I just had to swallow it because, essentially, I did do something wrong. I have a wife, I shouldn’t be talking to [other] women in the first place.
“But you make mistakes in life, I’m a human being. I had the ability to hand up my hand and go, ‘I was in the wrong, I will take whatever lashing and beatings you want to give me.’ I just think it went too far. It was unnecessary how far it went.”
Jenas also addressed his impending divorce from his wife and being dropped by his management agency. He reflected: “You get stripped back to your raw form, which is empowering in a weird way. It makes you look inward, ‘What do I actually want to do? What’s going to make me happy in my life?’
“Because as much as everybody thought I was happy, I wasn’t. Then the self-destruction thing starts, essentially. So it’s been an eye-opening experience.
“I wouldn’t recommend it for people but I get to see everyone for who they are now, which is really nice, because I never had that before. When I’m still earning my agency 20 per cent, everyone’s your best mate. When it all goes to crap and you really need people, you figure out who’s who.”
