Ray Parlour was left unimpressed with Jermaine Jenas’ interview with talkSPORT over his shock BBC sacking, questioning its purpose after the presenter avoided opening up on allegations he sent ‘unsolicited’ flirty texts to junior members of staff.
Jenas, 41, was fired for inappropriate behaviour yesterday while hosting a three-hour drive-time programme on national radio. He was later embroiled in an intense exchange after refusing to answer questions put to him on the show.
At one point, the former One Show Host, a favourite to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, demanded the recording of the segment be stopped.
Despite admitting his anger at the BBC’s decision, Jenas repeatedly insisted he could not talk about the claims with the matter now in the hands of his lawyers.
His spiky interview was broadcast again during the breakfast show with Parlour and Natalie Sawyer on Friday morning – with the former voicing his bemusement.
Jermaine Jenas conducted an awkward interview with talkSPORT after his shock BBC sacking
Ray Parlour was left unimpressed by Jenas dodging questions put to him on his firing
‘Tell you what, what a waste of three minutes in the morning,’ Parlour said.
‘Could have made a nice cup of tea. Would have made you a nice cup of tea! What was the point of that? If you can’t say nothing, you’ve just got to say it right from the start, “Look, sorry, I can’t speak now. That’s it. Interview’s over.”‘
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Sawyer added: ‘In a way, he was better off just releasing a statement saying the matter’s with his lawyers. I totally understand.’
Tongue in cheek, Parlour then sarcastically responded: ‘I’m sure the listeners are really riveted at home listening to that.’
Speaking to talkSPORT, Jenas said: ‘Look, I can’t really talk about it.
‘I, as you can probably see, I am not happy about it. But currently, as it stands, I’m going to have to let the lawyers deal with it. You know, there’s two sides to every story, as we know. So that’s all I can say right now.’
Pressed further, the former Tottenham midfielder added: ‘Like I said, I’m not happy about this situation. You know, I’m going to be speaking to my lawyers about it is all I can say right now. It’s odd, you know? And there’s definitely two sides.
‘I’ve just got to leave this to a team of lawyers at the minute who are, yeah, I suppose just managing the situation. This is… Yeah, it’s tough, you know.’
Jenas’ wife, Ellie Penfold (right), is standing by her husband, according to reports
Jenas is said to be deeply unhappy about the allegations. A female member of staff on The One Show claimed she received unsolicited messages via text from him, reports claimed, and others are now said to have come forward during the probe.
A source told The Sun there is ‘no suggestion of illegality’ on his part.
The former England international is thought to have told his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, about the claims and The Sun say she is supporting her husband.
Penfold describes herself as a ‘mummy’ and ‘wife’ on her Instagram bio and has modelled for Katie Price’s clothing range. Jenas and his partner got engaged in 2009 and tied the knot in 2011. Together, they have two daughters, Geneva and Olivia.
