Jermaine Jenas was involved in the dramatic rescue of a motorist whose car had left the road and smashed into a tree, hours before news of his BBC sacking emerged.
The former footballer rushed from his £7million detached home in Hertfordshire to help pull the 40-year-old man from his wrecked BMW.
He and neighbour Peter Marino, a software company director, helped the man from the crushed car and waited with him until police and an ambulance arrived.
Mr Jenas, who had co-hosted The One Show and Match Of The Day at the BBC, also stood in the middle of the busy road, helping divert traffic and asking drivers to ‘slow down, slow down!’ at around 10pm on Wednesday night.
Mr Marino said: ‘Jermaine was great in being a caring neighbour.
‘His house is opposite mine and it was around 10pm and we both must have heard the crash. It was so loud, an enormous bang.
‘We were the first to come out. The driver was moaning in pain, but we helped him out and laid him on the floor.
Jermaine Jenas rushed from his detached home in Hertfordshire to help pull the 40-year-old man from his wrecked BMW
Pictures show visible damage inside and outside the car, where an air bag was deployed
The BMW was destroyed as it smashed against the tree and fence, but Jenas was on hand to help
‘Jermaine was very concerned about him and so was I. It is a miracle that the guy is alive.
‘The bonnet of the BMW is caved in and the tree has been torn apart.’
Mr Marino said his famous neighbour was ‘his usual self’ and gave no clue to his BBC sacking.
Jenas said last night that he was ‘not happy’ about his sacking and he will be speaking to his lawyers about it.
‘Look, I can’t really talk about it,’ he said in an interview with talkSPORT News.
‘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.’
When asked about reports that he sent unsolicited texts to a female member of staff at The One Show, he replied: ‘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.’
Jenas declined to elaborate about what the complaint about him related to, whether it concerned more than one colleague, if he was surprised a complaint was made against him, when he was first aware that a complaint had been made and when the BBC told him he was being sacked.
Jenas also stood in the middle of the busy road, helping divert traffic and asking drivers to ‘slow down, slow down!’ at around 10pm on Wednesday night
The crash came hours before a BBC spokesperson confirmed that Jenas ‘is no longer part of our presenting line-up’
Jenas and neighbour Peter Marino, a software company director, helped the man from the crushed car and waited with him until police and an ambulance arrived. Pictured: A pair of smashed glasses inside the car
He also declined to answer when asked if legal proceedings were under way, whether he felt he would be able to continue working in sports presenting, or the industry as a whole, or if he felt he should apologise to anyone about his departure from the BBC.
‘I can’t talk about that right now. I’ve just got to leave this to a team of lawyers at the minute who are, yeah, I suppose just managing the situation,’ he said.
‘This is … Yeah, it’s tough, you know. But I’ve got to listen to my lawyers.’
It comes after a BBC spokesperson confirmed that Jenas ‘is no longer part of our presenting line-up’.
According to BBC News, the 41-year-old had his contract terminated after issues were raised involving digital communications, such as texts, in recent weeks.
BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore said she was aware of the situation but could give ‘no more information’, following an approach by PA after she spoke on a BBC panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
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.
Jermaine Jenas on the phone as he leaves Talksport on Thursday evening after being sacked
Jenas looked to be having an intense conversation as he was driven away in a black Mercedes
Jenas is pictured on his last episode of the One Show in July 22 of this year alongside Alex Jones
The One Show host, pictured with wife Ellie Penfold at Wimbledon this year, has been accused of inappropriate behavior
Jenas began presenting a talkSPORT drive-time show with former footballer Jermaine Pennant moments after the news broke.
He was escorted away from the News UK building in a black Mercedes car after the radio show in a car.
Jenas also 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 that 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.
He 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.
During his football career, he appeared for the England national team and played for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers.
Jenas also hosts Formula E race coverage for TNT Sports.
His agency MC Saatchi no longer represents him and his profile on the site now displays a ‘page not found’ notice.