Sara Cox began her first ever BBC Radio 2 breakfast show with a tongue-in-cheek legal warning to listeners after replacing Scott Mills. The broadcaster played songs including Lizzo's About Damn Time and CeCe Peniston's Finally, but drew the line at Ella Fitzgerald's At Last, calling it “too self-indulgent”.
Cox introduced a new game called Surprise and Shine, insisting it was not like her former teatime feature Totally Game. “If anybody dares say this is similar to a feature I did on teatime, my lawyers are listening,” she joked. “There is very little similarity to Totally Devoted. It’s got a different name for a start.”
The presenter encouraged listeners to register for the game, which rewards winners with a pair of orange socks featuring her face. She revealed this week's phrase is “I’m on board for brekkie”. Cox also thanked Gary Davies, who filled the slot after Scott Mills was taken off air, saying: “He was parachuted in. He did a proper shift.”
Mills was sacked by the BBC in March after it emerged he had been investigated over alleged serious sexual offences against a boy under 16 between 1997 and 2000. The investigation was dropped due to lack of evidence. The BBC said it acted decisively after receiving “new information” about the matter.
Cox said she was not nervous about taking over, having worked in radio for 28 years. She added: “I think if you’re ambitious, you always want to do the next big thing.” Asked about her predecessor, she stated: “I know no more than you do about the whole thing.”
