Alex Jones has spoken out for the first time about the extent of her knowledge of Jermaine Jenas’ BBC scandal.
Last August, the retired footballer was sacked by the BBC when it was discovered that he had exchanged sexual messages with two female colleagues.
Jermaine had become a staple at the broadcaster in previous years, as a lead presenter on The One Show and a regular pundit on Match of the Day.
Now, for the first time since the controversy, The One Show host Alex Jones has shared her thoughts on the matter.
In an interview with The Big Issue, the 48-year-old was asked if she knew of the circumstances surrounding Jermaine’s departure ahead of time.
“I very much take people on face value. But with JJ I didn't know what was going on. I had no idea,” Alex admitted.
"I thought he was taking extended leave. The BBC didn't share with me what was going on until they actually dealt with it. And, you know, they did what they thought was right,” she reflected.
“If that was my daughter and she felt uncomfortable with someone's behaviour, I hope that whatever company she was working for would deal with it swiftly as well,” the mother-of-three added.
Alex’s comments come as Jermaine recently shared his own reflections on the scandal and how it led to the breakdown of his 14-year marriage to his wife, Ellie Penfold.
Speaking on his and boxer Derek Chisora's podcast Let Me Tell You Something earlier this month, the 42-year-old explained: "It was sexting, as simple as that, but it was initiated to me and then I responded. It wasn’t just me going out of my way and it definitely 100% wasn’t, ‘If you do this, I will help you in your work’. There was no power element to it going on.”
Jermaine added: "There’s a lot of stuff with me and Ellie where we weren’t in the best place ourselves, and things were just spiralling a little bit. In no way is that blame. I’m fully accepting responsibility.”
