'The BBC didn't share with me what was going on...' The One Show's Alex Jones had 'no idea' about Jermaine Jenas complaints
Alex Jones did not know about the complaints of inappropriate behaviour regarding Jermaine Jenas on The One Show.
Alex Jones had "no idea" about the complaints of inappropriate behaviour about her former The One Show co-presenter Jermaine Jenas.
The 42-year-old presenter worked closely with Alex, 48, on the evening BBC One magazine show from 2020, until he was removed from the presenting line-up in 2024 after admitting he "sent unsolicited texts to a female staff member at The One Show" - which he is "deeply sorry" for.
Alex's former co-host, comedian Jason Manford, 44, left The One Show in 2010 after online "flirting" with women went "too far.
But Alex - who joined The One Show in 2010 - did not know what was happening until the BBC dealt with the matter with Jermaine.
Speaking about how she has grown up on the programme since joining the show in 2010, Alex told the new issue of The Big Issue magazine: "I started on it when I was about 32 and the audience have seen me mature and grow up as a young woman.
"They've seen me when I met my husband [Charlie Thomson] and we got engaged, and then got married, and then went on to have children, and they've been so supportive. You learn as you go on.
"Jason [Manford] and I are still really good pals.
"I very much take people on face value. But with JJ, I didn't know what was going on. I had no idea.
"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.
"If that was my daughter [Annie] and she felt uncomfortable with someone's behaviour, I hope that whatever company she was working for would deal with it swiftly as well."
Following Jermaine's dismissal from The One Show, he was also removed from the presenting team on BBC’s Match of the Day.
After he left the BBC, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder insisted he had done "nothing illegal" and that "inappropriate messages" were sent "between two consenting adults".
At the time, Jermaine was married to Ellie Penfold - who have daughters Geneva, 11, and Olivia, eight, as well as a two-year-old son called Jacob, together.
But months after it was revealed Jermaine had sent "inappropriate" texts, Ellie announced the couple had split up after 16 years together.
Speaking about the scandal on a recent episode of the Let Me Tell You Something podcast, he said: "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 per cent wasn’t, 'If you do this, I will help you in your work.'
"There was no power element to it going on."
Jermaine initially hit it at the BBC and vowed to seek legal action. He also told the public there are "two sides to every story".
But on reflection, Jermaine wished he could have handled the situation differently.
The star said: "I dealt with it wrong and got heavily punished for it by losing pretty much everything that I had at that time."
