There’s a very big difference between a safe pair of hands and playing it safe, and if you want to understand it then listen to the new commander of the Radio 2 breakfast show, Sara Cox.
Cox was the “safe” choice for the biggest show in Europe, after the dispatching of Scott Mills: she is incredibly popular, she knows what she’s doing, and she’s earned it. I’d wondered what was in it for her, given the sacrifices it involves, and indeed whether someone already so established at Radio 2 could inject new life into a programme that for years has felt on the blink. But there’s nothing “safe” about her. It turns out there is little that injects more energy into a programme or an audience than the sound of a confident, successful, professional and unapologetic woman triumphant in the job she deserves.
Her first song? “About Damn Time” by Lizzo. Her second? “Finally” by Cece Peniston. “There’s no message in the music – don’t be silly!” she said, laughing. “No, come on, that’s too self-indulgent!” Then she cranked up the opening bars to “At Last” by Etta James.
How refreshing it is to hear radio as mischievous and human as this – but then, that’s always been Cox’s great 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.
