Former Tottenham and England midfielder Jermaine Jenas was back behind the mic for Spurs’ FA Cup clash against Aston Villa on Sunday six months after his sexting controversy
Jermaine Jenas made his comeback on commentary duty for Aston Villa’s FA Cup win over Tottenham on Sunday – six months after being sacked by the BBC over allegations of workplace misconduct.
The former Tottenham and England star was axed in August over claims he had sent inappropriate texts to female colleagues and has not worked in broadcasting since.
But this weekend Jenas was back on the airwaves for match duty with talkSPORT, the radio station where he last appeared before news of his indiscretions came to light.
The 41-year-old previously worked as a presenter on the One Show, Match of the Day and also fronted coverage of Formula E on TNT Sports.
Jenas, who is married to wife Ellie and has three children with her, had already appeared on talkSPORT this Friday, where he was taken to task about his actions by presenter Shebahn Aherne.
When asked if he felt his behaviour was “wildly inappropriate”, he replied: “Yeah, of course. That’s what taking responsibility is about. It was inappropriate. I made a mistake. It was a mistake that is something that me and my wife and my family have to deal with.
“I think that the big thing here is that your career is one thing. I worked 10 years post-retirement from being a footballer and I can take it as far back as I want from starting from nothing to becoming a footballer to getting myself in a very fortunate position to work on television.
“When it is taken away from you like that, the only people there for you is your family and friends and it’s the people that are really close to you. That’s what has been my biggest support system during this period of time.
“Me and my wife have had some honest conversations. Me and my family have had some honest conversations and that’s who this is really between. So moving forward, that’s where my focus is, making sure that my kids are okay, my wife is supported and that I’m continually working on improving myself.”
Jenas made a total of 436 appearances as a player, making 21 caps for England before retiring in 2013 – quickly moving into punditry and featuring heavily on shows like Match of the Day and Football Focus.
He was even tipped as a future successor for Gary Lineker on Match of the Day before his sacking by the BBC.
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