There’s a very big difference between a safe pair of hands and playing it safe, and if you want to understand it then listen to the new commander of the Radio 2 breakfast show, Sara Cox.
Cox was the “safe” choice for the biggest show in Europe, after the dispatching of Scott Mills: she is incredibly popular, she knows what she’s doing, and she’s earned it. I’d wondered what was in it for her, given the sacrifices it involves, and indeed whether someone already so established at Radio 2 could inject new life into a programme that for years has felt on the blink. But there’s nothing “safe” about her. It turns out there is little that injects more energy into a programme or an audience than the sound of a confident, successful, professional and unapologetic woman triumphant in the job she deserves.
Her first song? “About Damn Time” by Lizzo. Her second? “Finally” by Cece Peniston. “There’s no message in the music – don’t be silly!” she said, laughing. “No, come on, that’s too self-indulgent!” Then she cranked up the opening bars to “At Last” by Etta James.
How refreshing it is to hear radio as mischievous and human as this – but then, that’s always been Cox’s great gift: she went from fun-loving ladette to fun-loving, reassuring mum who’s seen it all; she’s able to be light-touch without losing her sincerity, and she’s never sycophantic.
This first show was quite the contrast to when Mills took over from Zoe Ball back in 2024. The tone of his maiden show was simpering – he pleaded with the audience to stick with him and was overwhelmed with gratitude about the trust and responsibility placed in him by his BBC overlords. Blah blah blah – it was all a bit limp. His reverence was off-putting, he sounded too scared to handle the scrutiny that comes with the gig, and he feared the listeners he had to get onside. It became another bland morning show that took no risks.
Sara Cox has grown from fun-loving ladette to fun-loving mum who’s seen it all (Photo: Getty/Sopa Images)Cox, 51, is the opposite: natural, sharp, funny, in control – and a hell of a lot easier to listen to. Sure, she told Tom Hanks – and what a first guest, rejoicing about typewriters and hand-written letters, doing personalised Woody impressions and who immediately took to calling her “Sary” – that her knees were knocking. But she also told him she’d been doing this for 28 years. Good on her.
What a morning for it, too. If things had gone the other way in Mexico City last night, Cox would have had a job on her hands nursing heartbroken, sleep-deprived England fans back to life. Instead, her energy, her charismatic, unfiltered chatter – she regretted drinking a mango lassi after a curry the night before because it was clagging up her vocal chords – well-matched the delirium of at least one country revelling in the wake of a historic victory. (She apologised to Scotland for all the England chat – and played “Three Lions”.)
Cox has brought with her some popular features from her drive-time show – singalong jingles from Moana and The Muppets, the crowd-pleasing feature “Kids in a Car” – along with a few new bits. “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” has callers celebrating their triumphs; “Let’s Hear It For the Noise” is a rare radio quiz that seems like it actually has a chance of letting listeners play along too, rather than existing for the entertainment of the contestant alone (who in today’s edition didn’t quite grasp the concept, but it’s early days).
No, it’s no great shake-up, but it’s perfectly pitched, optimistic broadcasting, steered by an intelligent, charismatic DJ in possession of experience and edge. That alone feels revolutionary in an industry that increasingly often rewards “personal brands” and “social media following” over both. And while I had wondered just how different this would feel to her old show, the early morning slot demands something brighter, more lively – in her new role of waking up the nation, Cox sounded rejuvenated.
I was grateful this morning for her warmth, her sense of fun, her forthrightness and her cheekiness. If only we could all wake up so unfazed and excited for the day. You have to hope her competence is as contagious as her mood.
Cox had nothing to prove on the breakfast show. She’s beloved, a veteran, thriving outside of the BBC with podcasts and books, a total grafter, and has her pick of top presenting jobs. You get the impression she does the ones she wants to and loves enough to commit her whole heart to. It shows.
As she played her final song – “Wild Women Do” by Natalie Cole – I was bursting with pride and relief. This programme, the job that elided her for far too long, has always needed Sara Cox more than she needed it. Today, she proved just how badly.
Hence then, the article about sara cox s first radio 2 breakfast show proves how badly we needed her was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Sara Cox’s first Radio 2 breakfast show proves how badly we needed her )
Also on site :