Broadcaster Sara Cox has said she is no longer afraid to 'crumple a man’s fragile ego' as she reportedly takes over Scott Mills' role on the Eurovision Song Contest. The BBC Radio 2 host, who commented on the Eurovision semi-finals last year, is expected to take on a more prominent role following Mills' departure from the BBC. While the broadcaster has yet to confirm the official 2026 line-up, The Sun has reported that Cox will replace Mills.
The news comes as Cox graces the cover of Good Housekeeping’s May issue, where she opens up about ambition, resilience, and letting go of self-doubt. Now in her 50s, Cox says she has embraced a more confident version of herself. 'I say what I think a lot more these days,' she explains. 'I’m much less afraid of crumpling a man’s fragile ego by just having an opinion. I don’t really care what people think as much. It’s liberating, actually.'
Cox admitted that growing up, ambition felt like something to hide. 'I’ve got a career that I really love, and my kids know it takes me away from them sometimes. But I’m also a good role model. It’s good for the kids to see a woman who’s ambitious. I never used to think I was – when I was younger, being ambitious was a dirty secret. It’s ridiculous – I doubt a man would ever have that thought.'
Much of her confidence has been forged through challenge, including her 135-mile ultramarathon for Children in Need, which raised £11.5 million. 'In the last six weeks before the challenge, it completely took over my life,' she says. 'My internal dialogue never shuts up and in the middle of the night I was really adrenalised. There were tears. There was stress. My husband had to put up with a lot.' At times, the psychological strain was overwhelming. 'There were support cars behind me and the car in front was filming me, but I felt like the only woman in the world. The last human on Earth. Your mind does weird things when you’re really pushing like that.'
Cox credits her 13-year marriage to tech company director Ben Cyzer as a source of stability. 'Ben and I are annoyingly in love, and we laugh a lot, which is a good foundation for [our children’s] childhood,' she says. 'They’re very lucky; my parents divorced when I was young, so I didn’t have that. [Ben is] a mensch; he’d drop anything for me and the kids. I’ve really lucked out.'
