Talksport bosses had to make a decision, and not long to do so.
Moments before he should air, to face a driving show last August, Jermaine Jenas informed them that he had been fired from his work of £ 190,000 a year as host of The only show For the BBC.
With the watch working, they chose to allow him to take the chair.
What followed was a couple of almost surreal air hours, with the story that was broken online that he had been fired amid accusations of 'inappropriate behavior' towards an employee who not long ago in his period.
Four minutes later, the BBC Sports Director, Alex Kay-Jelski, sent a message from all the staff that simply said: “Hello everyone, I wanted to let him know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC.”
The elephant was not so much in the room, but in the passenger seat of the white trucks throughout the country while Jenas and co -supplyer Jermaine Pennant discussed everything but history on the lips of all others.
Jermaine Jenas was fired from her work of the BBC of £ 190,000 last year last August amid accusations of 'inappropriate behavior'
Jenas was a rising star in the BBC, presenting the One Show, seen here with Alex Jones
The BBC insiders saw Jenas as Gary Lineker's future replacement in the game of the day
At one point, a reporter of one of the newspapers of News UK, based in the same London Bridge building, appeared outside the glass of the study in the search for an appointment.
Jenas finally addressed the problem. In a brief interview after the program that left more questions than answers, he said that there were 'two sides in each story' before repeatedly affirming that he could not comment more until he had spoken with his lawyer.
More details of his abrupt departure from Beeb, where many believed he was being aligned to replace Gary Lineker as Day of the day Host, emerged.
It was understood that his dismissal was related to the sending of explicit texts to two employees in the station.
Subsequently, the 41 -year -old man apologized and referred to the “self -sabotage and self -destructive streak.”
He admitted to having sent text messages, but insisted that they were among adults who consent and added that he had done nothing illegal.
His wife, with whom he shares three children, threw him from the bedroom they shared in his family home of £ 1 million and was, in his words, “absolutely furious.”
Talksport said they had no immediate plans to use it again, while TNT Sports experts, for whom the former midfielder from England, Newcastle and Tottenham also worked, sounded a similar line.
Jenas' wife, Ellie Penfold, threw him out of her marriage bed at her home of £ 1 million
It was said that Penfold was “absolutely furious”, in the words of her husband, about Jenas' behavior
Jenas had been canceled effectively, and he has not heard of waves or television until this week
In BBC HQ in Salford, a Day of the day The mural with the 41 -year -old man was quickly removed.
It was immediately removed from the Facebook photo of a program and the M&C Saatchi Merlin agency website, its biography page that returns an error message 'page not found'.
Jenas, indeed, had been canceled and had not heard of waves or television since then. That was until the beginning of this week.
Mail sport He understands that the first staff of Talksport staff knew about his planned return, to provide color comments for Sunday's clash between two of his former Villa and Spurs clubs, as we revealed yesterday, it was when they were launched as a fait accompli at a planning meeting on Monday.
No consultation had been made. It is believed that the decision was made by Liam Fisher, the head of the station.
Immediately, it is known that those inside the room have raised objections.
The voice was run around the department and several employees, both men and women, made it clear that they would not feel comfortable working with Jenas.
In fact, it can be reported that the three people who had to work in the game in Villa Park refused blank.
Jenas is ready to return to Talksport on Sunday to comment on two of his old clubs, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur
Jenas told Talksport bosses moments before he started in the air of his BBC looting
Superior staff also raised concerns while alternative plans should be made. Others are configured to intervene as replacements with the station in apparent agitation.
A source, close to the situation, explained: 'This is a decision that seems to have been forced to staff.
'There is a lot of shock that there were no consultations with the employees. Wouldn't you see at least your views?
There is a certain appearance of a plan. Jenas is expected to be a guest in Friday's morning program.
The presenter Alex Crook and former Pro Troy Deeney of the presenter will also be in the air, instead of the usual customers Jim White and Simon Jordan, which many will see as a lost opportunity for an adequate grill.
Some are also seeing it as an attempt to pave the way and soften the blow before Sunday's transmission.
At least, it can be an interesting listening. Some employees are dizzy in perspective.
“I just don't understand it,” said another inmate, who didn't want to be named. 'I don't understand why you would do something like this and you would risk the violent reaction.
Jenas's agent confirmed that he will return on Sunday, but there has been silence from another place
The Women in Football Industry Group has attacked Jenas's return to the waves this weekend
“While it should be irrelevant anyway, it is not as if you were talking about someone who listened to.”
Talksport has not responded to repeated requests for comments, and Jenas's agent responded to confirm that he would return on Sunday. TNT Sports refused to add anything.
It will be intriguing to see how this develops, and the views of the station advertisers can be key.
A group that is talking on a day of almost silence after Mail sport He broke history, is a woman in football, a network of professionals in the industry that “support and defend their classmates.”
In December, they announced that Talksport Owners News UK is a “new corporate member.”
In a statement, they pointed out the investigation that found that “almost one in five members of the Women's Labor Force of the game has experienced sexual harassment while doing their work.”
“Given the behavior of Jermaine Jenas in her previous role with the BBC, it is not surprising that Talksport employees are restless about the perspective of working with him,” they added.
'There is no suggestion here that Jenas should never work again, even with Talksport. Rehabilitation is possible, and when it was removed from the BBC, Jenas expressed repentance and the intention of improving his behavior.
The presenter Alex Crook and former Pro Troy Deeney of the presenter will also be in the air on Sunday, instead of the usual customers Jim White and Simon Jordan
Jenas and Penfold have married since 2011 and live in Hertfordshire with their two children.
'Our concern is that Talksport seems to have determined whether Jenas has honored this commitment or having consulted women who work in their offices and studies. This is a mistake.
'Women in football enjoy a healthy relationship with Talksport, whose News UK owners recently joined our corporate membership program. Organizations decide to become corporate members of women in football not because they are perfect but because they know they can be better.
'We have let our feelings on this issue very clear to Talksport and continue working with News UK to provide development opportunities for your female staff and build a more equally equally gender work culture, where mistakes of this type are less likely to turn to '
They are valid points. When Jenas informed them of what happened in August, the station leaders had mere minutes to answer. This time they have had more than five months.
Few, however, are surprised. In 2011, Sky Sports fired Richard Keys in the middle of a sexism storm that began after they made derogatory comments about official football outside the air that leaked to the Sunday mail.
Two weeks later, they had a new job presenting a day program, in Talksport.