Jermaine Jenas admits 'inappropriate' texts to women but denies being sex pest after BBC sacking

Jermaine Jenas has apologised to the “women with whom I was messaging” after he was sacked from the BBC. The former Premier League footballer - who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Aston Villa - turned Match of the Day pundit, commentator and BBC the One Show presenter has admitted sending inappropriate messages to two women.

Jenas, 41, who has been married to wife Ellie for 13 years said “I am ashamed, and I am deeply sorry,” in an interview with the Sun newspaper. “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.

“I am sorry for what I have put them through. I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. I know I self-sabotage and have a self-destructive streak when it comes to my relationship especially, and I know I need help. And I am getting help. I have made a lot of mistakes, and I am asking myself a lot of questions at the moment. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be hard.”

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He began co-presenting a talkSPORT drive-time show with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant, moments after it was announced he had been removed from all BBC presenting line-ups on Thursday afternoon (August 22). Jenas told the Sun: “I did nothing illegal — these were inappropriate messages between two consenting adults.”

'Nothing physical ever happened but it was cheating'

But he admitted: “I’m not proud of what I wrote and what I said. And I do consider it cheating, yes, although nothing physical ever happened. This is all on me and I fully accept there is a level of responsibility that needs to be upheld when you’re a member of the BBC.

“And I fell below those standards. I must take the responsibility. I was given an incredible opportunity and I know it’s on me that right now I feel I have lost everything. I feel like people are judging me and that I am the number one target right now in the country.”

'One woman made it clear she was interested'

Jenas told the newspaper: “These were two consenting adults I was speaking to. With one she made it clear she was interested. I don’t want to start going down the ‘who pursued who’ road, but when people are saying things that are wrong and false information is being spread, I do have to kind of defend my space.

“In that particular instance, there was an adult conversation that took place in a bar in London where that person made it very clear that they had an attraction to me. Yes there was alcohol involved but I take full responsibility.

“I feel people don’t know the truth and are forming opinions about me that aren’t accurate. I wasn’t going through some kind of BBC vault trying to get women’s numbers. I’m obviously going to say I’m not a sex pest. These were consenting adults I was texting.”

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