Her dulcet tones are a mainstay in millions of homes across the country. So it’s little wonder when we catch up with Sara Cox, Radio 2’s popular drive time host, it’s like chatting to an old pal.
"I get that a lot,” she laughs, as we settle down for a video chat. “People will stop me in the street, give me a little look, and as soon as I speak, they’re like, ‘Ahh, so it is you.’”
Indeed, Sara’s distinctive northern accent – she was born and raised in Bolton – has been a familiar sound across radio and TV for three decades now. And as she prepares to turn 50 later this year, she shows no signs of slowing down. With the weekday drivetime show taking up a huge amount of time, she’s also got a third novel in the works and she’s launching a new wine collection. Following the likes of Snoop Dogg and Gary Barlow, Sara’s range has been curated specially by her and features a Champagne, a red, a white and a rosé, all from France.
Add to that her hectic home life with hubby Ben Cyzer and children Lola, 19, Isaac, 16, and 14-year-old Renee, and her (wine) glass is full to the brim.
“I feel ridiculous because it’s not like I’m holding down two cleaning shifts and a pub job, but it all takes its toll,” she says. “Most nights I can’t wait to crawl into bed! But Ben’s brilliant. He’s a great support and works from home, which is a godsend. I’ll send the kids off in the morning, chasing them with boiled eggs, peanut butter and apples, anything to get them to eat something, and then I get on with the day.”
Sara’s face lights up when talking about her kids and the subject soon turns to her eldest, Lola, her child from her first marriage to DJ Jon Carter.
Last year Sara said she wasn’t sad about Lola flying the nest to attend Leeds University, which she started last September, joking, “my parenting is done”. And it seems Lola’s absence hasn’t changed things in that respect. “I’m thrilled for her,” Sara says. “She’s loving it. I went off to do modelling at the age of 19 in South Korea, off into the big wide world. Lola’s not gone quite as far and I can still track her with my phone. I’ll have a look in the morning and see where she is, I’m always keeping an eye. It’s nice but I’m thrilled she’s gone – she’s made great friends and Leeds is a great city.”
Lola comes back often, although Sara won’t exactly be in a rush to settle down and share a bottle of her new wine with her daughter.
“How do I put this? She’s not got that much of a discerning palate, what with being 19 and all,” she laughs. “I’ve got a fridge freezer in the garage and that’s where I’ll stash the cheap Prosecco, which she always nicks. That fridge is always a bit emptier after Lola’s been visiting. So, no offence, I love my first born dearly, but I will be hiding the wine from her when she’s back. Mind you, she is home for her 20th birthday, so maybe as a treat I’ll open the Champagne.”
It’s clear Sara is loving every minute of raising teenagers, which isn’t something you hear too often. “I’m really enjoying parenting teens,” she says. “I just find them brilliant and funny, like little adults. I don’t want to speak too soon but I think it’s a bit of an unfair cliché that teenagers are a nightmare. Maybe I’m just blessed but parenting was harder when they were little. And that’s hard to confess, especially these days. You’ve got social media mums, where everything looks so perfect, and they’ve got a big, bouncy blowdry while bouncing a rosy-cheeked bairn on their slender hip.
"But the truth for me is that when mine were little, it was repetitive and boring. I look back now and see videos and pics and they were so cute, it breaks my heart. There’s no self-consciousness, they’re skipping and dancing and dressing up and it’s so sweet – but it was a slog. Whereas now, it’s not. I struggled with that and work when they were babies, it was full-on, but now I love it.”
A lot has changed in Sara’s life since she burst onto our screens on Channel 4’s The Girlie Show in 1996. At the time, the likes of herself and her fellow TV presenters Zoe Ball and Denise Van Outen, were dubbed “ladettes” by certain sections of the media for their supposedly outspoken behaviour and party-loving ways.
Now, as Sara gets set to celebrate her 50th birthday in December, she has thoughts on growing older.
“The conversation around women and ageing can be so toxic,” she says. “I remember, years ago, being asked my measurements and weight and it feels like ‘age’ is the equivalent topic in today’s society. The truth is, I’m excited to get older. I’ve lost people in their thirties and forties and early fifties, who’ve left families behind, so I’m thrilled and honoured to age. It’s a privilege to get older.” And, happily, with age comes wisdom.
“All our bodies change as time goes on, but our minds do too,” she muses. “I still feel like me, if anything I feel more confident in myself – not in my body, but in my brain and my ability. I just want everything to work now. It’s nice if I’m toned up and feel good in an outfit, but really I just want my organs and joints to work.”
Self-care is a priority for Sara, who has put her body through the wringer more than once. In 2022, she took on the Six Pack Revolution, following a 10-week fitness challenge that changed her body. And her 24-hour danceathon, in which she bopped to hits nonstop for Comic Relief in 2017, saw her doing a cardio workout every morning and a Pilates session every evening in preparation.
“It really is surprising what millions of people watching and counting on you can do, to kick your arse into gear,” she says. She ended up raising over a million pounds.
“Before the kids, I’d love nothing more than chuffing away on a Marlboro Light on a night out,” she says now. “But everybody grows up and you realise that you just want to look after yourself a little bit more.”
And nothing is more enjoyable to Sara than sitting down with a nice glass of wine. “That’s why I’m so excited to be launching my collection,” she says. “Each bottle feels like an event. I can’t wait for people to try it. Wine is something that I’m really interested in and I’m really proud of this.”
Even hubby Ben, who doesn’t drink, is on board.
“I’ve got a Star Wars-obsessed husband – and the Rosé is part of the Skywalker Vineyards, owned by the film’s director George Lucas,” she says. “You can imagine how exciting that was for him!”
Sara' wine is available from Perfect Cellar.
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