Jermaine Jenas’ father says his son is preventing to save lots of his marriage

Jermaine Jenas‘ father says the Match of the Day pundit is fighting to save his marriage after his BBC sexting scandal. 

The former footballer was sacked from his presenting roles on The One Show and the broadcaster’s flagship football show after junior staffers raised concerns over his behaviour. 

And Jenas is now said to be ‘in a state’ as he fears for the future of his marriage with his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold.

Dennis Genas, the father of the 41-year-old ex-England, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, now says that he is trying to hold his family together after his actions tore them apart.

The football coach, 63, told the Mirror: ‘He’s battling to save his marriage. It’s hit the family hard at the end of the day. He knows he shouldn’t have done what he did and he wants to keep his family together and he knows he has hurt his wife and kids.

‘I called JJ as soon as I saw what had happened. He’s my little man, my trouper, my main guy. I left the UK a long time ago but I’ve kept in contact with him, always. He was very upset of course. He did not think he had been treated well by the BBC. I didn’t ask him what he had done as I knew whatever it was it wasn’t illegal. I tried to give him a boost and the support he needed. He was in a state and needed it at the time.’ 

Jenas, who has three children with Ellie and another teenage daughter from an early relationship, revealed earlier this week that his wife has not yet told him whether their marriage can last. 

The former footballer previously told his former female colleagues he is ‘genuinely sorry’ for sending inappropriate messages – issuing a direct apology after being allegedly told not to contact the two women due to ‘legal process’. 

He had admitted to sending ‘inappropriate messages’ but insisted they were ‘between two consenting adults’ and that his behaviour was not illegal. 

But Dennis, who now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, now says his son will be back ‘better and stronger’ than ever – as he slammed the BBC for their treatment of him. 

Jermaine, who earned £190,000 for his work with the broadcaster, was sacked under workplace culture guidelines following scandals involving Huw Edwards and Strictly Come Dancing.

Dennis continued: ‘He’s hoping he gets his TV career back and I am confident he will. The BBC is a big organisation and has protocols in place to deal with this kind of thing. That has to be respected. Ultimately, if the BBC and JJ come out of this better and stronger then all good.’ 

The coach split with Jermaine’s mother when he was eight, after which he spent 90 per cent of his time at the maternal home. The footballer has previously spoken about his pain at watching his mother having to raise him and his sister with no money at all.

Jenas revealed he has a ‘self-destructive streak’ with his relationships and he is receiving therapy as he apologised.

And he revealed he cannot sleep and is ‘like a zombie’ from the anxiety of the situation.

He told The Sun: ‘I haven’t slept properly since they told me, to be honest.

‘I mean, the anxiety that builds up in your body over these types of things. I haven’t had any sleeping pills. I’ve just not been sleeping.

‘You just kind of lay there, mind’s ticking over until you just pass out. Part of me would just rather go out and run until I collapse.’

In addition, he has criticised how his former employer handled his sacking and has said he will be speaking to his lawyers about the situation.

According to official figures published last year, Jenas earned £190,000 to £194,999 for his work on the FA Cup, Match Of The Day and the World Cup at the BBC.

His salary for working on The One Show was not in the public domain, as it is produced by BBC Studios.

It is the latest blow to the BBC after the Huw Edwards child abuse scandal and bullying allegations on Strictly Come Dancing.

Moments after it was announced he had been removed from all BBC presenting line-ups, Jenas began co-presenting a talkSPORT drive-time show with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant.

TalkSPORT said: ‘There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSPORT in the immediate future.’

Jenas appears on TNT Sports’ football coverage from time to time but it is understood he is not scheduled to appear for a number of weeks.

It is understood TNT Sports was unaware of the status of Jenas’s employment with the BBC.

The father-of-four joined The One Show in 2020 as a stand-in co-host following the departure of Matt Baker and he was made a permanent fixture the following year.

Jenas has been a regular pundit on sports programmes Match Of The Day and Match Of The Day 2 and a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He has been widely regarded as a natural successor to replace Gary Lineker as host of Match Of The Day, but was noticeably absent from Saturday’s first episode of the new season.

During his football career, he appeared for England and played for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. 

Jenas also hosts Formula E race coverage for TNT Sports.

But a Formula E spokesperson said the presenting line-up for the next series will be ‘carefully considered’ after the last season finished in July.

The fallout has also seen Jenas dropped by his high-profile TV and celebrity management company, M&C Saatchi Merlin, who looks after other names including Freddie Flintoff and Helen Skelton.

The BBC has not offered details on why Jenas’s contract was terminated.

A spokesperson for the corporation said before his interviews with the Sun: ‘We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up.’