Jermaine Jenas has vowed to work on improving himself as the ex footballer speaks out in his first interview since his BBC sacking.
The former Tottenham midfielder turned heads after it was announced he was returning to punditry duties with talkSPORT. Jenas was axed from his presenting and punditry roles with The One Show and Match of the Day respectively in August 2024. He was jettisoned after allegations were forwarded of inappropriate behaviour involving text and digital messages to fellow BBC staff, sparking an internal investigation.
Afterwards Jenas’ contract was nonetheless terminated, where he earned somewhere between £190,000 and £194,999 per year for his roles, according to the latest BBC public figures. Jenas also parted ways with his long-term agents MC Saatchi and Formula E, where he was a presenter. But after six months he is returning to talkSPORT, where he was kept on while on hiatus, and will be part of the commentary team for Aston Villa’sFA Cup fourth round tie with Tottenham on Sunday.
Jenas faced the allegations head on when speaking to the station ahead of his return. He said: “The biggest thing in this whole situation is about taking responsibility and that has been at the forefront of my mind… There’s a reason why you’re in this position and there’s a reason why this has happened.
“Once you accept those things, then you can work on yourself and you can work on the other things and you can work on your family and work towards a brighter future. Essentially this is about me looking inwards, making some improvements and coming back a better person.”
Liam Fisher, Head of talkSPORT, added: “Jermaine Jenas addresses his past behaviour in this frank interview. He has a proven track record as a footballer turned pundit and we look forward to his expert commentary on Sunday as part of our coverage of 11 FA Cup commentaries across the weekend on the network.”