Sara Cox Unleashes Boldness for Eurovision Role

Sara Cox has said she is no longer afraid to 'crumple a man's fragile ego' as she replaces sacked DJ Scott Mills on the 's coverage.

The Radio 2 presenter, 51, has opened up on her ambitions as well as not being afraid to speak up more now that she is in her 50s, after being bullied in school.

Recalling her experience in an interview conducted before Scott's sacking, Sara told Good Housekeeping UK: 'I was never athletic at school. I was always the last to be picked. From the age of 10 I avoided walking in front of people on the way to school because I was bullied horribly for being knock-kneed and having very skinny legs.

'I don't think the experience of being bullied ever really leaves you – that feeling of not being in the cool gang can bubble up quickly, well into adulthood. It probably stays with you for the rest of your life.'

Sara, who hosts her Radio 2 afternoon shows from 4pm weekdays, has also shaken off people-pleasing later in life.

'I say what I think a lot more these days. I'm much less afraid of crumpling a man's fragile ego by just having an opinion,' she explained.

'I don't really care what people think as much. It's liberating, actually.' 

Mother-of-three Sara, who has been married to tech company director husband Ben Cyzer, was speaking as she appears on the cover of the May issue of Good Housekeeping.

Her comments come hours after it was revealed she would  following allegations of 'serious sexual offences against a teenage boy'.

On Tuesday, The Daily Mirror linked the decision to fire Mills to a 2016 police investigation into 'serious sexual offences' against a teenage boy between 1997 and 2000.

The case was dropped around seven years ago due to a lack of evidence.

It was announced on Monday that Scott, 53, had been sacked from the BBC after 28 years allegedly due to claims of a historical relationship.

The BBC said it had removed all future work planned with the presenter, which includes coverage of the contest that takes place in May.

Scott has been one of the commentators during Eurovision's semi-finals, which will air on BBC One in the week leading up to the final, since 2011.

He has most recently been joined by Rylan Clark on the shows, as well as talking listeners through the live Eurovision final on BBC Radio 2.

Sara will instead be taking on the role, after commentating on the semi-finals during a radio show last year, alongside former show commentator Rylan.

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place in Vienna, Austria, on May 16, with the two semi-finals taking place on May 12 and 14.

Scott and Sara were close colleagues, with Scott most recently supporting her Children In Need challenge, sharing a gushing tribute to her.

He said in November last year as he posted a snap with Sara: 'WHAT. A. HERO. so proud of @djsaracox.'

Daily Mail claimed the boy who is alleged to have accused Scott of serious sexual offences in the 1990s was under 16 at the time.

Mills, who would have been 24 at the time of the allegations, was reportedly later questioned by police under caution in 2018.

Scotland Yard has confirmed detectives sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service who rejected the case into a man then in his 40's due to a lack of evidence. The police investigation was closed in 2019.

The Daily Mail also believes that the complainant may have been inspired to speak out again this year due to the new Huw Edwards docu-drama.

Two sources have said that within the BBC it is being claimed that the unnamed man may have gone to the corporation due to the huge publicity surrounding Martin Clunes starring in Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards.

Mills was sacked six days after being hauled off air following his final Radio 2 breakfast show last Tuesday - the day of the Channel 5 show's release. 

Meanwhile, last month it was reported Sara was being lined up as one of the presenters to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly on Strictly Come Dancing.

A source close to the show told The Sun how Sara is trusted by viewers and is seen by bosses as a 'good fit' for the show.

They explained: 'Fans of Sara's Radio 2 drivetime show know she has that off-the-cuff patter down to a tee and has a brilliant reputation as an honest, hardworking pro.

'Execs have mentioned her name as someone who would be a good fit for the job.'

In November, Sara's Great Northern Marathon Challenge raised an outstanding £11,501,637 for Children In Need. 

She covered 135 miles on foot across four counties – Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire - a distance of five marathons across five days. 

When she crossed the finish line, emotional Sara said: 'I would like to thank Chase and Status and Stormzy for Backbone.

'And I'd like to apologise to my son because on telly, if it stays on the documentary, I am singing that song quite a lot and it's so cringe.

'So I am so sorry to my kids. We spend a lot of time playing brilliant music on Radio 2... I was singing along at one point like a mad woman, singing along to Blur, and all sorts just to try and push through.'

The full interview can be read now in the May issue of Good Housekeeping UK.