Jermaine Jenas vents frustration over the BBC's 'ability to take away my life' after sexting scandal that led to ex-England & Tottenham star's sacking and split from his wife Ellie Penfold

Jenas was sacked by the BBC in 2024 following a sexting scandal. The former midfielder subsequently apologised for sending "inappropriate" texts to female colleagues and admitted he needed help. The scandal also took a toll on his marriage, with Jenas confirming in March 2025 that he was splitting with wife of two decades Ellie Penfold. Jenas has since returned to work with talkSPORT and vowed to return a "better person".

Jenas has spoken about the situation and revealed his frustration at his treatment by the BBC. He told Reece Mennie on his podcast: "It's been a really difficult moment for myself and my family what happened. I have always held up my hand and taken full responsibility for it, that’s very important to do. You go through a lot of different emotions of anger and blame, but eventually you realise 'take responsibility and you’ll be able to move forward. 

"Because of their ability to take away my life, in terms of every deal I had, the jobs that I had at that particular time, I said that is never happening to me again. You’re in this kind of media bubble where you work for the BBC, there are so many walls in terms of what they want you to do and what you’re not allowed to do. So I've recently set up my own production company. My agency that I had at the time weren’t that supportive of it.

"Betting companies want to work with me because I’m in football. BBC hate that because of the issues to do with gambling in general, so they block all of that. So there were a lot of blocks on one side and football was bringing me some stuff, but the reality is that it all got wiped out. It all got taken away."

Jenas also spoke about his regrets at the scandal which cost him his career at the BBC, adding: "It was a mistake that is something that me and my wife and my family have to deal with. 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. It's a lot of hard work that you put into the job, but at the same time, it can be taken away from you like that. That's one thing that I've recognised."

Former England international Jenas is now aiming to rebuild his career and will no doubt be hoping that setting up his own production company can help him find new opportunities.