Jermaine Jenas makes surprise TV return two months after BBC sacking

Jermaine Jenas made his return to TV on Sunday two months after he was sacked by the BBC.

The former Tottenham, Newcastle United and England midfielder was axed by the BBC in August for sending unsolicited texts to two female staff members.

The 41-year-old, who is a father-of-four and said he was ‘ashamed’ of his conduct,has also been accused of sexually pursuing a female make-up artist during his time as a pundit for BT Sport in 2017.

Jenas, who hosted The One Show and was also in contention to replace Gary Lineker as Match of the Day’s lead presenter, revealed last month that he was planning to return to football punditry following his departure from the BBC.

Jenas made his first appearance of the season for Malaysian broadcaster Stadium Astro on Sunday for Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League.

The former midfielder was stood pitchside at the Emirates Stadium alongside fellow pundit Henri Lansbury.

Speaking last month, Jenas told fans on Instagram that he had ‘become a better person’ following the scandal.

‘It’s clearly been a difficult period for me but one that I’ll definitely grow from. We’re human beings, that’s what it is,’ Jenas said.

‘You’ll learn from it. You’ll become a better person. Those are the things that are important in life.

‘None of us are perfect and we’ve just got to find a way to keep moving forward, look after our babies and our families in the best way we possibly can.

‘That’s something that I’ll be trying to do. Mainly [I wanted to say] thank you, really. It’s been really nice, the level of support you’ve shown me.

‘It’s been a nice eye-opener as well. I kind of lost connection with my followers along the way and it’s been nice to reconnect with a lot of you who’ve been kind enough to send me messages.

‘I’ve tried to get back to as many of you as I possibly can and I will continue to do so.

‘Listen, some exciting stuff that I’ve been working on, so you’ll all have that to look forward to very soon. Hopefully I’ll be back talking about what I love, which is football.

‘I’ve been living the life of those Spurs fans – up and down, up and down. Forest getting great results at Anfield and playing well.

‘So I’ve been watching, but I’m looking forward to getting back and talking about what I love most. So last of all, thank you very much and I’ll see you soon.’

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