Jermaine Jenas: Everything to know about the sext scandal that made him lose job and £190k salary

2024 has been a challenging year for the BBCand its employees. After Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, the network’s most popular show, Strictly Come Dancing, was thrust into the spotlight. In addition to the Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice scandal, the BBC found evidence against Graziano Di Prima and another female professional dancer.

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As if that wasn’t enough, the BBC confirmed last week that former professional footballer turned television presenter Jermaine Jenas has been sacked from his role due to a sext scandal. A BBC spokesperson stated:

We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line-up.

Everything we know about BBC’s Jermaine Jenas sext scandal

Known for his work on The One Show and Match of the Day, Jenas was dismissed after it was revealed that he had engaged in inappropriate behaviour involving sexting with multiple women. The controversy began when it was reported that Jenas had sent explicit messages to at least two women, which he later admitted in a public statement, reports the Mirror.

After his removal from the BBC’s line-up, Jenas issued a heartfelt apology to his fans, stating:

I am ashamed, and I am deeply sorry. I have let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology – especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry.

Jenas, who has struggled with sleepless nights since the scandal, acknowledged that the interactions were inappropriate, even though they involved consenting adults. He said:

I did nothing illegal – these were inappropriate messages between two consenting adults.

The 41-year-old insisted he had done nothing illegal and that the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom was actually interested in him. He denied sending explicit images or videos and stated there were no in-person meetings. He told The Sun:

I’m not proud of what I wrote and what I said. And I do consider it cheating, yes, although nothing physical ever happened.

The Match of the Day presenter now intends to sue the BBC over how they handled his dismissal and the leakage of private information about him.

How much did Jenas earn at BBC?

The fallout from this scandal has been severe for Jenas, both professionally and personally. At the time of his dismissal, he was reportedly earning between £190,000 and £194,999 annually for his work with the BBC. This included his work on the FA Cup, Match of the Day, and The World Cup, writes The Sun.

His work on The One Show is for BBC Studios, whose salary details arenot publicly available. Right after the first complaint was raised against Jenas, his contract was terminated.

In addition to the BBC, Jenas also worked for TNTSports and TalkSPORT. Both TalkSPORT and TNT stated that they take the allegations seriously and have no immediate plans to work with Jenas anytime soon.

How has the scandal impacted his marriage and personal life?

Jenas has been married to model Ellie Penfold for 13 years, and she is reportedly furious with him. He mentioned that Ellie has been 'absolutely raging' and has not spoken to him since learning about the scandal reports The Independent.

The father-of-four had to come clean to his wife when he told her he had been sacked by the BBC. He explained:

I just said: ‘I’ve been sacked from the BBC.’ She said: ‘What for?’ and I said: ‘For sending text messages that weren’t appropriate to two girls.’

Ellie is absolutely raging. She’s human. When I see her now, she is just making sure the children are OK.

Jenas shares two daughters and a son with Ellie – Geneva, 11, Olivia, 8, and Jacob, 2. He also has another daughter, Sancha, from a previous relationship. Following the scandal, he had to have difficult conversations with his children while on a family holiday in Marbella. He said: