Jermaine Jenas and Jermaine Pennant enjoy a Hooters night out after the football pundit public apologised to wife Ellie Penfold after sexting scandal

Jermaine Jenas and Jermaine Pennant enjoyed a festive night out together at Hooters as they joined a group of friends for a boozy party.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder, 41, was sacked from the BBC in August after sending explicit text messages to two female employees at the broadcaster, where he worked on Match Of The Day and The One Show.

But this weekend he had a smile on his face again as he strolled around the US restaurant chain famous for its scantily clad waitresses with a group of friends.

Jenas revealed the group was at the ‘annual fantasy drinks’ and Pennant was forced to bring in the beers after finishing in last place in the competition.

He said, “A little late, but we finally got our annual fantasy league drinks in from last year! Jermaine Pennant finished last and got the drinks today.”

The group was joined by a cardboard cutout of Jessica Gunning’s stalker character Martha from Netflix phenomenon Baby Reindeer.

The two former footballers posed with the cutout as they sat around a table drinking Guinness and playing a game of Uno.

In response to the selection of photos in the comments section, Pennant joked: “No, this isn’t right.”

The outing comes shortly after Jenas made a groveling public apology to his wife Ellie Penfold following his sexting scandal as she celebrated starting a new business.

In November, Ellie appeared at a venue in London for the launch of her new venture, Preppy Skin, a grooming brand aimed exclusively at under-16s – and Jermaine took to Instagram to congratulate her.

But within his effervescent post was responsibility, as he praised his wife for managing to start her business despite the ‘bullsh** he put her through’.

He wrote: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of this woman, three years ago you had a great idea and this week you got to make that idea a reality.

“Starting a brand is hard enough, but working hard and being dedicated to making it happen, even with all the BULLS**T I’ve put you through lately, should be proof enough that you can make one will make it a success.

‘Visit @preppyskin I promise your kids will love what Ellie has worked so hard on over the years.”

Jermaine recently revealed that his wife Ellie – with whom he shares three young children – was ‘absolutely furious’ after hearing about the messages and evicted him from the bedroom they share in their £1million family home.

He admitted lying to her during a family holiday in which he sneaked out for a Zoom call with BBC bosses about his inappropriate messages.

remained largely silent about the situation on social media, but appeared in public without her wedding ring on Tuesday, sparking speculation about the status of the couple’s 13-year marriage.

Ellie admitted that the past few months had been ‘incredibly difficult’ for her and her family.

She added that her “sole focus has been on our children” and that she was eager to “move forward” as she embarks on her new venture.

Ellie told me the sun at the Battersea launch event on Tuesday: ‘Of course this has been difficult for me, but my only concern was our children and that won’t change.’

‘Now I just want to move on.’

Ellie and Jermaine have been married for 13 years after tying the knot in 2011.

They live in a £1 million house in Hertfordshire and together they have two daughters, Geneva and Olivia, plus son Jacob.

Jermaine also has an older daughter Sancha, 16, from a previous relationship who lives with her mother in the United States.

He was sacked by the Beeb after women complained about his workplace behavior and a junior employee – reportedly previously impressed by the star – raised concerns about alleged flirty texts.

The company acted “quickly and decisively” because “the BBC is not slow to take action,” a source claimed.

The married star insisted he did nothing illegal and that the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom made it clear she was interested. He denied ever sending indecent images or videos.

In a lengthy interview with The Sun after his dismissal, the presenter revealed how he did it and Ellie were on holiday with their children in Marbella, Spain, when the BBC contacted him.

He then told his wife that he had been fired because she expected him to start work on The One Show on Monday.

‘I just said, ‘I’ve been sacked from the BBC’. She said, “For what?”, and I said, “For sending text messages that were inappropriate for two girls.”