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More women have come forward with fresh claims of inappropriate behaviour involving Jermaine Jenas since he was sacked by the BBC, according to reports.
The presenter and former England footballer, 41, was fired this week over workplace misconduct after a female One Show colleague raised concerns about unsolicited messages.
Following an investigation, which uncovered messages that “horrified” investigators, Jenas was swiftly sacked. The One Show and Match of the Day presenter is now facing fresh allegations, as more women come forward in the wake of the news, The Sun reported.
Jenas broke his silence on his sudden axing as a source suggested there has been “no suggestion of illegality”.
Jenas told The Sun he is "ashamed" and has "let everybody down". He said he sent "inappropriate messages" to two colleagues on the One Show, but insisted he "did nothing illegal" and said they were sent to "two consenting adults". He added that the texts were a "huge error of judgement" for which he was "deeply sorry", adding that he was "not a sex pest".
Jenas, who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, told TalkSport News in an earlier interview: “Look, I can’t really talk about it. 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.”
Jenas was fired this week after “rumours” spread about inappropriate messages he had sent to colleagues.
“We investigated him immediately and fired him pretty fast,” a source told The Times. “There are no excuses for anyone in power abusing their positions. He’s a man in power messaging some runners.”
The MailOnline reported that the father-of-four has told his wife of 13-years about the claims while his colleagues at the BBC are understood to have been notified about his sacking via an email on Thursday.
A short message, sent from an iPhone, from the BBC’s head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, reportedly read: “Hello all, I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working with the BBC. Thanks, Alex.”
A member of staff told the MailOnline: “It must have really caught them on the hop for such an announcement to have been sent from a mobile phone.”
Jenas, who recently won a women’s football ally of the year award, earned £190,000 – £194,999 for his work on the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.
His departure comes at a difficult time for the BBC, which is still reeling from the Huw Edwards scandal and the ongoing accusations of abuse on the set of Strictly Come Dancing.
“In the wake of the Huw Edwards and Strictly Come Dancing scandals – although, to be clear, Jermaine’s conduct is absolutely nothing like Huw’s and there is no suggestion of illegality whatsoever – the BBC cannot be seen to be slow to take action,” a source told The Sun. “In this case, Jermaine was the fall guy and was fired.”
The source added the alleged misconduct is the “last thing the BBC needed” and has “shocked, and rocked, everyone”.
The BBC promptly began scrubbing Jenas from their website and a poster of him has been removed from the broadcaster’s Media City HQ in Manchester.
He has been widely regarded as a natural successor to Gary Lineker as host of Match Of The Day, but was noticeably absent from Saturday’s first episode of the new season.
His agency MC Saatchi also appears to no longer represents him and his profile on the site now displays a “page not found” notice.
As the news broke on Thursday, Jenas was presenting a new show on radio station TalkSport.
A TalkSport spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a breaking news story involving Jermaine Jenas as he went on air for a one-off presenting slot on TalkSport Drive. We made a decision – with Jermaine – that he should continue to present the show.
“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. There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on TalkSport in the immediate future.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives of Jenas for further comment.
