Jermaine Jenas' awkward interview as sacked BBC presenter demands to be taken off air

Jermaine Jenas emphasized there are 'two sides to every story' during his first interview after his dismissal by the BBC, which took an awkward turn when he asked to go off air.

After allegations of inappropriate behavior surfaced, Jenas's relationship with the broadcaster was abruptly cut short. The allegations concern a string of texts the ex-Premier League star reportedly sent to a female colleague, as revealed by The Mirror , prompting a BBC inquiry.

Following confirmation of Jenas's departure, a BBC spokesperson announced: "We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line up."

The BBC's Director of Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, notified staff at 3.39pm on Thursday with a brief message stating, "I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC."

The story went public while Jenas was on-air hosting talkSPORT's Drivetime show. The radio station has now shelved his future scheduled appearances. Post-show, he provided TalkSPORT News with a succinct statement concerning the issue.

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Here's the full exchange...

talkSPORT News asked: "Jermaine, the BBC has announced today that it has sacked you? What's your reaction to that decision?"

Jermaine Jenas: "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."

Interviewer: "It's being reported that you sent unsolicited texts to a female member of staff at The One Show. Is that true?"

Jenas: "Like I said, I'm not happy about this situation. You know, I'm going to be speaking to my lawyers about it is all I can say right now."

Interviewer: "Are you able to elaborate at all about the complaints that were made? What exactly did they relate to?"

Jenas: "No."

Interviewer: "Was it something concerning one colleague or more than one?"

Jenas: "I'm going to have to, like I said, speak to my lawyers about this situation. I definitely... as you can see by probably, Yeah. Like I said, my reaction... I'm not... I'm not happy at all about the outcome of this, but, I've got to leave it in the hands of the lawyers right now."

Interviewer: "Were you surprised that any complaint was made against you?"

Jenas : "I can't really talk, maybe as much. I can't really talk right now. I've got to leave it in the hands of the lawyers. Like I said, I'm. It's odd, you know? And there's definitely two sides."

Interviewer : "Just a couple of logistical questions. When did the BBC tell you that you were being sacked?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about that, unfortunately. All of this is,yeah, with my lawyers. And I'll be probably, like I said, responding through my lawyers."

Interviewer : "I totally appreciate why that is what you're going for. I'm sure you can understand why I'm just going to ask you..."

Jenas : "You've got a job to do."

Interviewer : "When were you first made aware that a complaint had been made?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about that."

Interviewer : "You've spoken about legal proceedings, are they already underway or are you in the process of getting them underway?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about it."

Interviewer : "Do you feel that you have anyone to apologize to as a result of this and your departure from the BBC or not at this stage?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about that right now. I've just got to leave this to a team of lawyers at the minute who are, yeah, I suppose just managing the situation. This is... Yeah, it's tough, you know. But I've got to listen to my lawyers."

Interviewer : "You've said on a few occasions that you're not happy that you will instruct your lawyers, and that there are two sides to every story, and that that's the case here. Do you see that for any reason why you wouldn't be able to continue working going forward in sports presenting, or indeed in the industry as a whole?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about that right now."

Interviewer : "Jermaine, I can see that you are fuming... and I understand entirely that there are certain things you can't talk about. But you are a major BBC star. Can you articulate any of your emotions right now towards the BBC and towards this happening to you?"

Jenas : "I can't talk about it right now. I can't talk about those things right now. Like I said, there is definitely, you know, there's two sides to this whole thing. And, you know, my lawyers are going to be taking over from now on."

Interviewer : "When do you hope your side can be aired? What sort of timescale would you hope you can get your call out?"

Jenas : "Sorry, I can't give you any... can't talk about it."

The sacked presenter then cut in to ask: "Is this still on air?" When the interviewer responded with "yes, we are still recording", Jenas demanded: "Turn it off." The chat then carried on with similar questions before Jenas concluded: "I really appreciate the position you're in and the questions you've asked. Thank you very much for your time."