Jermaine Jenas has spilled the beans on how he would feel about his daughter appearing on Love Island in the future, as pal and fellow retired footballer Michael Owen watches his offspring on the current series of the show.
The One Show presenter, 39, admits he would be hesitant to see his children head to the infamous villa in Spain, but isn't "stupid enough" to be too against it as it would only result in more banter in the dressing room.
Jermaine, who played in the top flight for clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, has plans to wind up mate Michael, 42, next time he sees him, following the former England striker's daughter Gemma Owen hitting the headlines thanks to her stint on Love Island this summer.
The former sports star has praised the teenager dressage competitor for how she's come across on the show so far - calling some of the social media criticism Gemma has received "harsh" - but that won't stop him cracking a few jokes with her dad.
"She might go on to do great things and this might be her first step towards doing that – and it might not be the ideal step but it might be a step," Jermaine mused when discussing Gemma's decision to enter the world of reality TV.
"But obviously, when I see Michael there will be a bit of winding up!"
Discussing the possibility of one of his children appearing on the ITV2 show one day, Jermaine stated: "I’m not stupid enough to say, 'I’d be fuming'. As one thing I’ve learnt growing up in dressing rooms is that if you say, 'I don’t want my daughter to do this,' all that does is push them away."
Speaking with OK! magazine, the footballer-turned-presenter explained how if his daughter came to him with a desire to apply for Love Island, he would likely voice his concerns due to "the scrutiny involved".
"But if she thinks she can handle it, I would say, 'Go and enjoy yourself, as long as you know what’s coming'," the dad-of-four added.
Jermaine shares daughters Geneva, nine and Olivia, five, as well as son Jacob, eight, with wife Ellie, alongside teenage daughter Sancha, 14, from a previous relationship.
Earlier this week, Gemma finally name-dropped her famous father inside the Love Island villa after weeks of seeming desperate to do so.
The horse-loving star brought her dad up in a segment that was shown on Love Island's Unseen Bits show on Saturday night, with the teenager doing an impression of Michael.
In the previously unseen clip, producers ask Gemma to do her "best impression" while she is sat alone for the Beach Hut Bonanza.
She started by contemplating: "Who can I do?”
Gemma then said: "There's no way I'm going to do my dad, but people always do the classic, 'If they don't score, they don't win.'"
"It's something like that. It's some bulls**t or whatever."
Viewers watching at home went wild for the former Liverpool player finally getting a shout out of the reality TV show, with many taking to social media to express their delight as Gemma acknowledging her dad's career on-screen.
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