Sara Cox has been lauded by critics who tuned into her first Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday. It was announced in April that the presenter, 51, would take over the Breakfast Show from Scott Mills, who was sacked after it was discovered he had been the subject of allegations of ‘serious sexual offences’ against a teenage boy under 16.Critics were impressed by Sara’s tongue in cheek playfulness as she opened the show with Lizzo’s About Damn Time as the opening track. In a nod to the 28-year wait to land the biggest slot on radio, Sara told listeners: ‘No message in the music, don’t be silly! No, come on, that’s too self-indulgent.’Impressed, The Telegraph awarded the presenter four out of five stars. They praised Sara for bringing ‘confidence, chaos and a welcome sense of mischief to Britain’s biggest radio slot’. Critic Chris Bennion wrote: ‘Cox started as she meant to go on – a hectic, uplifting three hours of pure, unadulterated Cox. Bit spiky, bit rude, a lot of fun. There’ll be no repressing of the natural spirit here. And did she sound just that bit more Boltonian than normal? Sara Cox has been lauded by critics who tuned into her first Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday’Having been a breakfast show stand-in many times over, we knew what we would get with Cox, though she did betray some nerves. These displayed themselves in a presenting style that sometimes verged on chaotic but never strayed away from charming. She gabbled, she giggled, she honked a clown horn continually.’She won’t keep this 300mph act up for long, but it was exhilarating to hear her so exhilarated. I wondered whether she would take the gig in her stride, as she is such a natural and obvious fit. No, she was thrilled. It was heartwarming.’The Independent awarded five stars for her fun interview with Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and called her the ‘new queen of breakfast radio’. They wrote: ‘She made the switch to the 6.30am slot, Cox brought all the silliness and fun from her teatime programme (and some of the features) – with an added dose of sparkle from an impressive A-list guest.’Just minutes in, it became clear the BBC Radio 2 ship had been steadied after months of sailing on rough waters following Mills’s departure, and the listeners were in safe hands.’With an Oscar winner in the studio, Cox kept listeners front and centre, and Hanks’s appearance ended with the actor doing his best Woody voice to deliver a message to two young fans.’As first shows go, Cox surely couldn’t have hoped for better. About damn time, indeed.’ It was announced in April that the presenter, 51, would take over the Breakfast Show from Scott Mills, who was sacked What do the critics say? The Telegraph Rating:’Cox started as she meant to go on – a hectic, uplifting three hours of pure, unadulterated Cox. Bit spiky, bit rude, a lot of fun’The IndependentRating:’Just minutes in, it became clear the BBC Radio 2 ship had been steadied after months of sailing on rough waters following Mills’s departure, and the listeners were in safe hands.’The Times Rating:’I love the quick-witted, Boltonraised Cox as a radio broadcaster but her tone was a little too frenetic, her syntax sometimes garbled’ inews ‘How refreshing it is to hear radio as mischievous and human as this – but then, that’s always been Cox’s greatest gift: she went from fun-loving ladette to fun-loving, reassuring mum who’s seen it all’ <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/tvshowbiz/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
Sara first guest was none other than Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who joined her to talk about his new film Toy Story 5 During his guest appearance, Tom gave Sara a Hollywood introduction. Speaking to Sara on Radio 2, Tom revealed why Toy Story 5 feels particularly timely Sara was presented with a cake which looked like toast and fried egg as she celebrated her first day The Times’s critic remained more neutral after listening into Sara’s first show. Giving the presenter three stars, they said while they believe she will ‘nail this gig’, they questioned if enough thought had been put into the structure of the show. They wrote: ‘I love the quick-witted, Bolton-raised Cox as a radio broadcaster but her tone was a little too frenetic, her syntax sometimes garbled. There was a lack of conviction in her playing snatches of showtunes once building blocks of her teatime show (The Muppets, Grease) with inadequate explanation. A new show needs a proper introduction.’I believe Cox will nail this gig and that she is the right person for the job, but this left me wondering whether enough thought had been put into the ingredients of this breakfast show. It didn’t feel a full English.’ inews said: ‘How refreshing it is to hear radio as mischievous and human as this – but then, that’s always been Cox’s greatest 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.’Sara closed her first-ever Breakfast Show on Radio 2 with Natalie Cole’s Wild Women Do. The presenter is finding her feet after she stepped into Scott’s radio slot following his sacking. Scott was questioned under caution by police in 2018 but the case was rejected by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2019 due to a lack of evidence. The BBC admitted that it knew about the allegations as far back as 2017.In May, Daily Mail’s Katie Hind revealed Scott is suing the BBC after it axed him.Scott believes he was unfairly dismissed and his legal team at the London-based firm Level Law has been corresponding with the corporation, his employers for 28 years, for weeks.Friends of Scott believe he was used as a ‘scapegoat’ by the BBC’s then outgoing director-general Tim Davie, who took a zero-tolerance approach after a string of recent scandals relating to Huw Edwards, Gregg Wallace and Jermaine Jenas.One said: ‘Scott is devastated, but he is also furious. He has lost not just his job but also something he loved over a police investigation which was dropped many years ago. He has lawyers. They are aggressive, and they are determined to get justice for him.’Scott feels wronged, and there is a view that the BBC used him as a scapegoat to show that by sacking him the BBC has been cleaned up from past scandals such as Huw Edwards and Jimmy Savile.’Essentially, Scott wants to clear his name. He wants to come out and tell his story but he can’t do that until the legal fight comes to a close.’Being fired has broken him. His mental health is in a very fragile place and, to him and his legal team, it feels totally unjustified, so they are fighting the BBC. There is an obvious claim for unfair dismissal here. Decisions like this ruin lives, and this one has ruined Scott’s.’