A junior staffer on The One Show was reportedly ‘dazzled’ by Jermaine Jenas’ fame before reporting the inappropriate texts which led to him being sacked.
Jenas, 41, was let go by the corporation after women complained about his workplace conduct and a junior member of staff – said to have been previously impressed by the BBC star – raised concerns over alleged flirty texts.
It comes as bosses at TalkSPORT and TNT Sports are said to be taking the allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ very seriously and have launched their own investigation.
The radio station says he will no longer appear on the show in the ‘immediate future’ after finding out about the presenter’s BBC sacking just moments before he went live on air yesterday afternoon.
The married ex-footballer’s scandal comes just weeks after he was named Ally of the Year at the Women’s Football Awards.
The football pundit was fired by the BBC this week over ‘alleged issues relating to workplace behaviour’, which the broadcaster confirmed involved ‘digital communications such as texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago’.
Other women have since come forward as messages allegedly sent by Jenas are being investigated.
A source told The Sun that a lot of ‘Chinese whispers’ are circulating and the scandal was shrouded in secrecy, with not ‘even top talent like Alex Jones, Alan Shearer or Gary Lineker’ knowing about it.
Staff are said to be ‘rocked’ and ‘shocked’ by the revelation but the corporation acted ‘swiftly and decisively’ because ‘the BBC cannot be seen to be slow to take action.’
The source claimed the first complaint came after Jenas allegedly ‘flirtily messaged a female member of staff on The One Show’ and she raised misgivings formally.
Jenas’s sacking was spearheaded by new director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski.
The corporation said: ‘It followed allegations involving digital communications such as texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago.’
Sources at the BBC say Jenas will no longer host its evening show with immediate effect. He also appears to have been removed from agency MC Saatchi’s website.
One told the Mail: ‘It all came as a massive shock but his colleagues have now been told the news and he won’t be back. His colleagues are stunned, they didn’t see it coming at all. They were kept in the dark to start with. They couldn’t believe it when they found out.’
The ex-Premier League player began co-presenting a talkSPORT drive-time show moments after it was announced he had been removed from all BBC presenting line-ups.
TalkSPORT said: ‘There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSPORT in the immediate future.’
Jenas did not address news about his sacking during the live broadcast on Thursday evening and left the News UK building after the radio show in a car.
Jenas, who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, told talkSPORT News in a brief 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.’
When asked about reports that he sent unsolicited messages to a female member of staff at The One Show, he replied: ‘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.
The father-of-four fronted L’Oréal’s ‘WingMen’ campaign, alongside Jamie Redknapp and Peter Crouch, promoting skincare products for dads.
He still remains in a photo on the beauty firm’s website alongside Redknapp and Crouch.
Within hours of him being sacked, Jenas was removed from The One Show’s Facebook cover photo, while a Match of the Day mural which featured him was removed from the BBC’s Quay House home in Salford.
The former footballer also appears to have been airbrushed from the website of talent agency M&C Saatchi Merlin, with his bio page now coming up with a ‘not found’ message.
He is understood to have told his wife of 13 years about the claims and Ellie is said to be standing by him.
Speaking about the revelation, a source told The Sun: ‘This is a categorical nightmare for the BBC.’