Jason Manford Reflects on Quitting The One Show Amid Scandal During Reunion with Alex Jones

Jason Manford has admitted he ‘f****d it’ as he reflected on quitting The One Show amid a sexting scandal in 2010. 

The comedian, 44, Jason quit in November 2010 – three months after joining the programme – after he admitted to having shared sexual messages online with female fans whilst still married to his ex-wife, Catherine.

Jason enjoyed a surprise reunion with former co-host Alex Jones, 48, on Tuesday after making an appearance as a guest the BBC show, 15-years after his exit. 

The funnyman shared a beaming snap of the pair to Instagram as one fan commented:  ‘It’s such a shame your on screen partnership didn’t last 15 years. A lovely pair’

To which Jason replied: ‘I know! F***** it! But hey ho, we live and learn and grow!’.

According to his then-agent Katie Phillips, Jason handed in his resignation to the bosses of The One Show ‘to ease the situation surrounding newspaper allegations’, before later issuing a statement confirming his departure. 

Jason had taken over presenting The One Show with Alex to much hype after the pair replaced original hosts Adrian Childs and Christine Lampard.

Following his exit The Sun: ‘I have decided after careful consideration to step down from The One Show to concentrate on my family and tour commitments.’

The dad-of-six took full responsibility for his actions and added:  ‘I have only myself to blame. I have never felt so low.’

The comedian was reportedly given a warning by bosses about his behaviour and asked to close down his Twitter account.

He confessed to spending nights flirting with women on the video call service Skype and on Twitter in various hotel rooms during his nationwide stand-up tour.

He said:  ‘We would start off flirty, then innuendo and then a bit saucy. They were the moments I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be saying that’. It was just nice to have some interaction I suppose. But the next morning I would wake up and think, ‘Oh my God’. I don’t drink or do drugs, so it’s not like I’ve those to blame – just my own stupidity.’ 

Jason then claimed his then-wife, Catherine – who have twin daughters and a daughter and son together – had forgiven him, however the ywould go on to split in 2013 after six years of marriage.

The funnyman then dated TV worker Lucy Dyke, whom he go on to wed in 2017, and together they share two children.

It comes after The One Show was rocked by yet another sexting scandal when former footballer Jermaine Jenas was dismissed by BBC bosses in August 2024 over allegations of workplace misconduct after sending explicit texts to two female employees.

While at the time he said he and wife Ellie Penfold, who married in 2011, hoped to work through their marital troubles, the couple eventually split in March this year.

The presenter later admitted the break-up wasn’t his call as he grovelled for forgiveness before accepting his fate.

The ex-footballer is now trying to rebuild his career with a series of podcast appearances and continues to open up on the scandal that ended a promising partnership between himself and the BBC, which cost him his £190,000 salary.

He also revealed he has opened up his own production company – which has helped open new doors for his career, addressing the fact that he wasn’t allowed to do certain things while employed by the BBC in what has become his previous life.

But Jenas has now admitted how much he really lost through the episode, and revealed the promise he made to himself when the decision was made to let him go.

Speaking to Reece Mennie on his podcast, he said: ‘Having worked in the media for the last ten years, and having been through what I’ve been through for the last year, been a really difficult moment for myself and my family what happened which I have always held up my hand and taken full responsibility for, that’s very important to do. 

‘You go through a lot of different emotions of anger and blame, but eventually you realise: “Take responsibility, Jermaine, and you’ll be able to move forward.” 

‘Because of their ability to take away my life, in terms of every deal I had, the jobs that I had at that particular time, I said that is never happening to me again, so I’ve recently set up my own production company. 

‘My agency that I had at the time weren’t that supportive of it.

‘This is not their fault, but when you’re in this kind of media bubble where you work for the BBC, there are so many walls in terms of what they want you to do and what you’re not allowed to do. 

‘Betting companies want to work with me because I’m in football; BBC hate that because of the issues to do with gambling in general, so they block all of that.

‘So there were a lot of blocks on one side and football was bringing me some stuff, but the reality is that it ALL got wiped out. It all got taken away.’

Penfold was left ‘raging’ and kicked the former Tottenham Hotspur star out of their bedroom at their £1million family home when it was revealed he had sent explicit messages to two members of staff at the BBC.

Jenas confessed to lying to Penfold, who describes herself as a ‘wife and mother’ in her Instagram bio, during a family holiday to Spain when he sneaked off to talk to his bosses about the messages.

The former England star admitted sending the texts but insists he has done nothing illegal.

He denied ever sending indecent images or videos and said the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom ‘made it clear she was interested’.

However Jenas said he is ‘ashamed’ and ‘deeply sorry’ as he apologised for his conduct.