Jermaine Jenas makes rare public appearance following his BBC axe and marital split as he attends the GRM Gala after claiming the channel 'took away his life' amid sexting scandal
The event, which is hosted by the magazine of the same name and celebrates black British culture and UK-based rap and grime artists, took place at London's Hurlingham Club.
As Jermaine slowly begins to relaunch his career with a string of podcast appearances, the presenter was joined by boxer Derek Chisora at the event.
The pair beamed as they posed for snaps together, joining stars including Alesha Dixon and Ella Eyre at the event.
Jermaine - who was capped 21 times by his country between 2003 and 2009 - was dismissed by BBC bosses in August 2024 over allegations of workplace misconduct after sending explicit texts to two female employees.
While at the time Jermaine said he and wife Ellie Penfold, who married in 2011, hoped to work through their marital troubles, the couple eventually split in March this year.
The presenter later admitted the break-up wasn't his call as he grovelled for forgiveness before accepting his fate.
The ex-footballer is now trying to rebuild his career with a series of podcast appearances and continues to open up on the scandal that ended a promising partnership between himself and the BBC, which cost him his £190,000 salary.
He also revealed he has opened up his own production company - which has helped open new doors for his career, addressing the fact that he wasn't allowed to do certain things while employed by the BBC in what has become his previous life.
But Jenas has now admitted how much he really lost through the episode, and revealed the promise he made to himself when the decision was made to let him go.
Speaking to Reece Mennie on his podcast, he said: 'Having worked in the media for the last ten years, and having been through what I've been through for the last year, been a really difficult moment for myself and my family what happened which I have always held up my hand and taken full responsibility for, that's very important to do.
'You go through a lot of different emotions of anger and blame, but eventually you realise: "Take responsibility, Jermaine, 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, so I've recently set up my own production company.
'My agency that I had at the time weren't that supportive of it.
'This is not their fault, but when 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.
'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.'
Penfold was left 'raging' and kicked the former Tottenham Hotspur star out of their bedroom at their £1million family home when it was revealed he had sent explicit messages to two members of staff at the BBC.
Jenas confessed to lying to Penfold, who describes herself as a 'wife and mother' in her Instagram bio, during a family holiday to Spain when he sneaked off to talk to his bosses about the messages.
The former England star admitted sending the texts but insists he has done nothing illegal.
He denied ever sending indecent images or videos and said the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom 'made it clear she was interested'.
However Jenas said he is 'ashamed' and 'deeply sorry' as he apologised for his conduct.
He revealed he was fired in an excruciating video call - while he was on a family holiday in Marbella, Spain, with his wife and their three children.
Jenas slammed this as 'grim', having to 'sit there and listen to what you've said' as four people on the Zoom call read out his inappropriate text messages.
He said he went on to lie to his wife after being informed of the allegations to 'find a way out of this mess'.
Ellie broke her silence on events at the launch of her new personal care brand Preppy in November.
She said: 'My only focus has been on our children and building my brand Preppy. Now I just want to move forward.
'Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change.'
The news of Jenas's sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSPORT radio. He returned to punditry work last month, saying on talkSPORT his conduct was 'wildly inappropriate'.
He continued: '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.
'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.'
Speaking on the Filthy Fellas podcast of the split, meanwhile, Jenas said: 'It was her decision and one that I had to accept. If it was up to me - and I think a lot of men are like this - I'd probably be prepared to be unhappy for the rest of my life if [it meant] I had my kids in it.
'It's a man thing. If I wake up with my kids everyday, I'm quite happy to sacrifice the happiness. The reality is, we were both in a position where we like: "Are we really happy"?
'From her side of things, she's probably ran the course much more than me. But I was much more happy to go: "I'll be unhappy if I can stay in this house with you and these kids". But it wasn't to be for her and we went our separate ways.
'She has understood the scenario that we've been in as a family. Kids first is our motto. We have to be the best parents we can possibly be. So I've been spending so much time at home.
'Not loads has changed really, it's just mine and her relationship has gone into more of a friendship than a relationship.
'I do believe there is going to come a moment where I'm sat in my apartment one day and be like: "This is mad. I had my whole family around me every single day. [Now] I'm not hearing that pitter patter of feet."
'That's going to be the tough side of it. But that's part of dealing with the situation. The reality is, me and my wife didn't split up because I sent some text messages to some people at work.
'We had issues for a period of time and it all comes to a head. Eventually, you make a decision to say, as adults: "We will be better parents for our children if we remain friends". We had 16 amazing years together. She's a great woman.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jessie J makes heartbreaking admission as she reveals impact of cancer journey on son
Jessie J has heartbreakingly revealed that she feels like she has been 'robbed' of time with her son following her breast cancer diagnosis. Appearing on Jamie Laing 's Great Company podcast on Wednesday (20 August), the 'Price Tag' singer, who underwent a mastectomy in June, candidly shared that she 'feels like I can't be a mum to my son'. 'I feel like cancer has robbed me of memories with my boy,' she told Laing, adding that some days can be 'awful' when dealing with raising a child as well as undergoing cancer treatment. The 37-year-old, who filmed the podcasts in two parts after initially deciding she didn't want the first recording to air, emotionally shared that when she was first diagnosed, she thought that 'things would go left and I would die'.
Glasgow Times
5 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
BBC ‘not institutionally antisemitic', says Observer's editor-in-chief
James Harding said the perception of a 'political presence looming over the BBC' is a problem and the broadcaster needs to be 'beyond the reach of politicians'. The BBC has been criticised for a number of incidents in recent months which include breaching its own accuracy editorial guidelines and livestreaming the Bob Vylan Glastonbury set, where there were chants of 'Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)'. Following the incident, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said ministers expect 'accountability at the highest levels' for the BBC's decision to screen the performance. Mr Harding discussed the difficulties of covering the Gaza conflict when he delivered this year's James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday. He described how 'newsrooms are in a furious argument with ourselves over the coverage of Israel and Gaza', with the situation 'very hard to view dispassionately'. The Observer chief said this is true for all media organisations, particularly the BBC, and it is 'about as difficult as it gets in news'. Mr Harding said: 'This summer, Lisa Nandy has weighed in.' He said the Culture Secretary's office insists she did not explicitly ask Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, to 'deliver up' director-general Tim Davie's resignation following the Bob Vylan incident, but 'people inside the BBC were left in no doubt that was the message'. Mr Harding said: 'The place became paranoid about how the BBC itself would cover the story; people around him thought the political pressure would be too much. 'Whatever your view of the hate speech vs freedom of speech issues, an overbearing Government minister doesn't help anyone. 'The hiring and firing of the editor-in-chief of the country's leading newsroom and cultural organisation should not be the job of a politician. It's chilling. 'Political interference – and the perception of a political presence looming over the BBC – is a problem, one that we've got too accustomed to. 'It looks likely to get worse. We need to get on with putting the country's most important editorial and creative organisation beyond the reach of politicians now.' James Harding gave the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival (Alamy/PA) The broadcaster is also facing an Ofcom investigation into its documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone after a review found it had breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy. The programme was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. Mr Harding said the BBC is not antisemitic. 'I am Jewish, proudly so,' he said. 'I'm proud, too, to have worked for the most important news organisation in the world. 'The BBC is not institutionally antisemitic. It's untrue to say it is. 'It's also unhelpful – much better to correct the mistakes and address the judgment calls that have been wrong, than smear the institution, impugn the character of all the people who work there and, potentially, undermine journalists in the field working in the most difficult and dangerous of conditions.' The UK Government and the BBC have been asked for comment. Mr Harding is co-founder of Tortoise Media, which acquired broadsheet newspaper The Observer in April. Before he co-founded Tortoise Media, Mr Harding was editor of The Times from 2007 to 2012 and was in charge of the BBC's news and current affairs programming from 2013 up until the beginning of 2018. He also co-presented On Background on the BBC World Service and wrote the book Alpha Dogs: How Political Spin Became A Global Business. A spokesperson for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: 'The Culture Secretary has been repeatedly clear that the role of the director-general is a matter for the BBC board. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue. 'The BBC has itself acknowledged a number of serious failings in recent months, including the broadcasting of the Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury. 'It is entirely right that the Culture Secretary raised these issues with the BBC leadership on behalf of licence fee payers.'
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
Emily Atack reveals Rivals nude scene secrets as she vows to go on playing sexy women ‘for as long as they'll have me'
A DOOMED love affair, naked tennis and plenty of sex are just some of the things that Emily Atack's character Sarah Stratton gets up to in telly bonkbuster Rivals. And the actress reckons she is the ideal person to play the blonde bombshell — as she is practically the same person. 6 6 6 Emily, 35, is seen in the Disney+ eight-parter having her heart broken by sexy Lothario Rupert Campbell-Black, which she says she can definitely relate to. She revealed: 'I wasn't afraid to identify with her and I completely, I AM her. 'I'm a very flawed woman. 'I've made terrible decisions in my love life. 'I used all of that — it was completely genuine — and yes, I used the vulnerability, all of it. 'Finally, women are being written about in a certain way. 'These demonised women, they're not being celebrated but they are being understood better. 'Women like Sarah Stratton have never been written with nuance. 'They're always certain types of women — the demonised types of women, you know, the home wreckers and everything. 'Big furry knickers' 'I think people have been quite scared to admit that they identify with characters like Sarah.' In Rivals, Sarah is a wannabe TV host who is married to Deputy Prime Minister Paul Stratton, played by Rufus Jones, and is unquestionably one of the most glamorous characters on the show — which Emily loved. The actress, who shot to fame playing Charlotte 'Big Jugs' Hinchcliffe on Channel 4 sitcom The Inbetweeners, says: 'There are roles that come along and the term 'typecast' is always seen as this negative thing. 'I've been typecast my whole life and I loved every single minute of it. 'I will carry on playing these sexy women for as long as they will have me.' Having been romantically linked to a string of celebrities, ranging from Harry Styles to Jack Grealish, Emily is now in engaged to scientist Dr Alistair Garner, with whom she shares 16-month-old son Barney. Her stint on The Inbetweeners from 2008 to 2010 led to a long line of other work ranging from stand-up comedy to acting. Rivals, which has been a hit around the globe since it came out last year, is arguably her biggest gig to date — and it's one which, arguably, she was destined to play. I just made it my part before they could even make a decision. This particular one I was like, yeah they'd be stupid not to (hire me.) Emily Atack Talking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Emily revealed how producers specifically had her in mind for the role, which she embraced. She said: 'The breakdown for the characters said, 'Think Emily Atack', so they went, 'Well, let's just get Emily, then.' 'I still had to audition. 'I went in with all the get-up on and they thought I'd dressed up. 'I was actually just going to a bar afterwards. 'They were like, 'Thank you so much for dressing as the role,' I was like, 'No worries.'' 6 6 She added sarcastically: 'I had to dig REAL deep for my character. 'As soon as you read something like that it naturally flows out of you. 'You naturally feel at home with it. 'That's how I felt with Sarah Stratton. 'I just made it my part before they could even make a decision. 'This particular one I was like, yeah they'd be stupid not to (hire me.)'' Now Emily is reprising her role as Sarah, opposite Alex Hassell as Tory MP Rupert, in the second series of Rivals which is halfway through filming and is expected to drop late next year. 'Stick-on muff' She can't emphasise enough how well the cast get on, which is partly down to their 'no d***s on set' policy — meaning no bad behaviour. That rule was also essential when she and Alex had to film their naked tennis match in the grounds of Rupert's grand stately house, which is a key scene in Jilly Cooper's original novel. It has become synonymous with the show, and earlier this year it was even nominated as one of Bafta's TV Moments Of The Year. Well-endowed Rupert was supposed to have a member that he could 'bat bread rolls' with, and the creative team did consider giving him an oversized prosthetic to wear. But while they opted for the actor to go with the 'model's own' option, Emily had something more than a tennis racket and balls to cover herself up — and it was not just for reasons of modesty. She revealed: 'I had a stick-on muff. 6 'I had to have a merkin, it's called, and I had all these fittings for them. 'They were going: 'Oh no, it's too blonde that one,' and it had to be a proper Eighties bush. 'But that actually helped because it actually just felt like I had these big furry knickers on, and I kept looking at the monitor going: 'Oh, do I look alright? Oh God!' 'And seeing yourself naked on camera like that is so weird and jarring but once I'd seen it I was like, oh, fine. 'I couldn't put my clothes back on. 'It was quite liberating. 'They were like, 'Emily, can you put your clothes back on now?'' But she was keen to point out that despite the sexual nature of the scenes and the nudity, she never felt uncomfortable because, like on other dramas, intimacy co-ordinators were on set. 'Safe environment' They were needed on Rivals as there were many sex scenes involving a lot of characters — which, of course, were all based on the sauciness in Jilly's books. Emily said: 'It's a very new profession, the intimacy co-ordinators. 'Everybody is still navigating it and working it out. 'But I'm really proud of Rivals and it is such a massive representation of how far we have come in the industry in terms of taking care of people's needs and emotions. 'It's such a safe environment, and I'm not just saying that because I'm on it.' Filming of series two started in May and will continue until February, with Jilly back, heavily involved in the production. The novelist has even invited all the cast to an enormous party — which means Emily will jet down from Edinburgh to the West Country immediately after her stint at the TV festival. Then she will go direct from partying to filming her next scenes in Rivals. Emily said: 'Yes, I'm going to Jilly Cooper's house tonight. 'My pick-up time is hideous tomorrow, though — they do that to me so I don't stay out too late!' JILLY: MY MEN DO NOT CRY DAME Jilly Cooper is more involved than ever in the second series of Rivals – and she has given her blessing to show chief Dominic Treadwell-Collins, who used to be boss of EastEnders, to create new characters that don't exist in her books. Producers have also hired two genuine Hollywood stars in the form of Mission: impossible actress Hayley Atwell and showbiz veteran Rupert Everett for the cast of the new season. Hayley plays Helen Gordon, former wife of Rupert Campbell-Black and mother of his two children, Marcus and Tabitha, while actor Rupert portrays her current spouse Malise Gordon, who was her ex-husband's show-jumping coach. Dame Jilly, 88, has been a massive influence on the show as one of the exec producers – and the old-school writer is anything but woke. She has been cracking open bottles of champagne for the crew before midday and putting her no-nonsense stamp on the show. Dominic revealed: 'She comes on set and gives wonderful notes. She said to Alex (Hassell, who plays Rupert): 'Come on, butch up!'' Lee Mason, an executive director at Disney+, added: 'One day I was on set and Jilly was there. 'She came down and she gave a note to everyone, which said: 'My men do not cry – my men are macho.' The writer has been taken aback by some of the bonking on the show – but changed her mind when she realised where it came from. Dominics recalls: 'One day she said to me, 'Oh Dominic that was a VERY sexy bit. And I was like: 'Yes, Jilly, you wrote it!'' The creators of the show also said the second series will draw on the vibe of Riders, Jilly's novel set in the world of polo. And her millions of readers could be in for a much bigger telly treat – as Dominic points out that Disney now has the rights to ALL of Jilly's books.
