Jermaine Jenas criticises ‘obsession’ with cancel culture as axed BBC presenter is grilled by two female TV hosts during awkward and tone-deaf ‘comeback’ interview after losing job over ‘sexting scandal’

Jermaine Jenas pushed back at two female presenters when returning to television in a bid to move past his sexting scandal.

Jenas, who starred in the BBC’s football coverage and fronted the One Show, was sacked by the BBC in August 2024 after sending several explicit texts to female colleagues.

Multiple women came forward to complain about Jenas’ conduct, including a make-up artist who alleged that he hounded her for sex while working at BT Sport in 2017.

The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, who was a regular on Match of the Day until 2024, lost both his marriage and career after complaints about workplace conduct.

Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Friday, Jenas was defensive with his responses and body language – despite pleading that he wasn’t – and combative with presenters Ranvir Singh and Kate Garraway.

Jenas said: ‘To say I was happy in the industry I was in is an overstatement. When it comes to what I’ve learnt, it’s a very specific thing to put my finger on. 

‘It’s probably a little bit of an unfair question to find that one thing. You go through life, you make mistakes and there were things happening on the outside of work also affecting my behaviour. 

‘I’m not skirting around anything. I’m more than happy to have a conversation. I’m not here to defend myself in any way, shape or form.

‘I know what I did was wrong and I accept those punishments. Nobody is skirting around the responsibility of what I did. I know what I did and I know it was wrong.

‘I think they [other men] can look at what happened to me and make their own assumptions about what to do with their own lives.

‘I’m not here to preach to other people about what they should do with their lives. I’m here to explain my experiences, what I’ve been through, what I’ve done and the impact it has had on everybody in my life. I’m not here to dictate to people.

‘I understand why you have to come at me with this line of questioning and it’s completely fine and if you feel I haven’t been punished enough then go ahead and keep going.

‘I did put myself in the position and I’m not sitting here begging and pleading for my job back.

Jenas conceded that his actions were wrong but believes society has been too quick to ‘cancel’ him. 

‘I’m fully accepting of what has been taken away from me. I put myself in that position and that is where the learning comes from – which is where I now have to look forward to what is coming next. That’s where the post comes from.

‘It’s impossible to not learn about yourself when you are put into the position that I was put into, that I put myself into.

‘You have to take stock, look around yourself, look at your own behaviour and realise that things have to change.

‘I’ve done that over a period of time where it’s been very tricky – granted I put myself in that position.

The learning from it doesn’t always have to be negative. We are so obsessed in this industry with “oh, he’s been cancelled” – everything has to be negative.

‘Hang on a minute, I’m a person who has learnt a lot from my mistakes and spent 10-12 years in this industry and had a brilliant career and really enjoyed my time on television. There’s a lot for me to give back.

‘I’m not saying on television, it could be on any different platform where I know a lot of people feel how I feel.

‘I’m a human being. We make mistakes. You two [Ranvir Singh and Kate Garraway] can’t sit in front of me and say you’ve never made a mistake in your life. We all make mistakes, we live in the public eye.

‘Every mistake I made was made public and I had to handle that as a man. That’s exactly what I did. The thing now is about moving forward and what I’m about to do next. Currently, I’m not sure.

‘It’s been good with my children, but up and down also. It’s been a very, very tricky spell. I’ve got an 18-year-old and a 13-year-old, who are very aware of social media and everything that has been going on.

‘Having some very open and honest conversations with them as a father is very difficult. At the same time, you’re then trying to protect the 9- and 4-year-olds.

‘Ellie has been incredible in the whole process, maintaining a consistency in their lives. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.’