BBC bosses axed Jermaine Jenas so quickly not even Alex Jones knew about it as he was airbrushed off publicity websites within minutes – in contrast to Huw Edwards who stayed on the payroll for 10 months.
The presenter, 41, was fired this week after ‘rumours’ spread among colleagues over ‘unsolicited’ flirty texts that he had allegedly been sending to junior members of staff.
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.
His firing happened so rapidly that even Jones, his co-presenter on The One Show, was reportedly unaware of the scandal, as were his football presenting colleagues Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
The contrast with Edwards is striking, with the BBC continuing to pay him a salary from July last year – when The Sun informed them of allegations he had paid a teenager for sexual images – until April, when he resigned on medical advice.
Jermaine Jenas featured on the previous Facebook cover photo for The One Show
He has now been airbrushed out after being sacked from the BBC for allegedly sending inappropriate messages
The former footballer also appears to have been airbrushed from the website of talent agency M&C Saatchi Merlin. This is how his bio page previously appeared
The page now comes up with a ‘not found’ message
The 63-year-old has now been asked by the BBC to hand back the estimated £200,000 he received in the five months after his arrest in November on three counts of making indecent images of children.
The case of Huw Edwards dogged the BBC from the moment the first allegations emerged, with the corporation announcing a day after the story that it would investigate the allegations and contact the Met Police.
By contrast, the investigation into Jenas’ alleged texts was ‘shrouded in secrecy’, it is claimed.
‘Not even top talent like Alex Jones, Alan Shearer or Gary Lineker knew about this,’ a source told The Sun . ‘It has shocked, and rocked, everyone.’
The BBC has been mired in a series of scandals in recent years, which may have motivated bosses to act quickly against Jenas.
‘It’s a very sensitive landscape at the BBC at the moment with the various scandals that have beset it of late,’ a source told The Mirror. ‘Any hint of workplace misconduct and they needed to come down on like a ton of bricks.’
Some staff have praised the corporation for their speed in dismissing Jenas, although the presenter himself is furious and insisting there are ‘two sides to every story‘.
The former England international is understood to have told his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, about the claims.
Ellie, who describes herself as a ‘mummy’ and ‘wife’ on her Instagram bio and has previously modelled for Katie Price’s clothing range, is said to be supporting the ex-Premier League footballer, according to The Sun.
The contrast with Huw Edwards is striking, with the BBC continuing to pay him a salary from July last year – when The Sun informed them of allegations he had paid a teenager for sexual images – until April, when he resigned on medical advice
A court sketch showed Edwards standing in the dock after he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children
The presenter is said to be ‘deeply unhappy’ about the allegations after he was fired this week after ‘rumours’ spread among colleagues about the inappropriate messages.
A female member of staff of The One Show claimed she received unsolicited communications via text from Jenas, reports claimed.
Others are now said to have come forward amid the probe into messages allegedly sent by the married ex-footballer, according to The Sun. However, the source added there is ‘no suggestion of illegality’ on the ex-footballer’s part.
The news of Jenas’ sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSport radio yesterday afternoon, who have now said he will no longer appear on the show in the ‘immediate future’.
Just three months before his sacking, Jenas posted a gushing message about his wife on Instagram as he wished her happy birthday.
He wrote: ‘Happy birthday Mrs j i love you… we love you more than you could ever imagine.. you deserve the world x.’
Jenas’ ex-model wife Ellie Penfold (pictured) is standing by the axed BBC star as ‘multiple women’ come forward to make fresh claims about his alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’
The former England international is understood to have told his wife of 13 years about the claims
Jenas on the phone as he leaves Talksport yesterday evening after being sacked
Jenas spoke to MailOnline 16 months ago about the strained relationship he once had with wife Ellie, saying they argued about the amount of time he spent socialising after filming for The One Show.
He also admitted that the pair had to work through their differences and that the couple enjoyed separate holidays.
Jenas said: ‘I would say up until about five years ago it was quite stressful for us both.
‘There was a lot of competing going on in our relationship and a lot of ‘you get to do this’ or ‘you don’t do this.
‘It was a lot to do with the kids and the fact that I had this new career starting and I was out and about and meeting new people and going to shows… it was all glitzy but for my wife it was like nappies, milk… I am a very hands-on dad and I’m always trying to help but still she wasn’t getting that fulfilment in her own life.
‘I had to address it and over the last five years I always say to her once or twice or year just go away for three days or something.
Jenas and his wife Ellie are pictured on holiday in Marbella in June 2014
Just three months before his sacking, Jenas posted a gushing message about his wife on Instagram as he wished her happy birthday
Jenas pictured at Wimbledon this year with Ellie
‘In the summer and coming up now she will usual go to Ibiza with her mates and have a good blowout and that’s for her not to have to wake up or think about the kids, and I’ve just come back from Scotland playing three days of golf and she will say the same to me, go and play golf, relax, enjoy yourself.’
The got engaged in 2009 and tied the knot two years later in 2011. They live in a £7million house in Hertfordshire and together they have two daughters, Geneva and Olivia, plus baby son Jacob.
Jenas also has an older daughter Sancha, 16, from a previous relationship who lives in the United States with her mother.