Jermaine Jenas has finally returned to social media after being sacked by the BBC for sending “inappropriate messages” to two female colleagues – vowing he will “grow” and “learn” from the scandal.
Jenas admitted that the incident left him feeling ashamed over the sexting scandal which cost him his job and left his marriage on the rocks.
Jenas, 41, who was axed from hosting duties on The One Show and Match of The Day, was also met with similar allegations from other women.
Today he returned to social media where he addressed his 211,000 followers on Instagram and said: “Hello you lot, obviously been missing for a while on the socials.
“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. 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.”
The former footballer went on to tease a possible return to hosting duties in the future and added: “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.”
At the time of his departure, a BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line-up.”
Jenas has criticised how his former employer handled his sacking and has said he will be speaking to his lawyers about the situation.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
BBC EastEnders’ Sid Owen announces on-screen return to shine light on personal strugglesDick Van Dyke, 98, worries fans as he makes heartbreaking health confessionAmanda Owen sends Our Yorkshire Farm fans into frenzy as she shares snap with eldest Raven
The 41-year-old told his former female colleagues he was “genuinely sorry” for sending inappropriate messages, issuing an apology after being told not to contact the two women due to “legal process”.
He said in an interview with The Sun after confessing to the allegations: “I feel ashamed. I feel I’ve let everybody down – friends, family, colleagues. The handling of the situation wasn’t great. It was quick — and hell.
“I don’t think there was a game plan for when they were going to announce they’d fired me. I think different departments were being told different things. I think it’s shocking.”
