British broadcaster Sara Cox launched her new role as host of the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show on Monday morning, returning to a national morning broadcast 26 years after starting a similar role on BBC Radio 1.
Cox opened the programme with Lizzo's "About Damn Time," followed by CeCe Peniston's "Finally" and a snippet of Etta James' "At Last" before playing a song by Olivia Rodrigo.
She encouraged audience interaction early in the broadcast by reading out incoming text messages. "It is a Monday.
It's my first show, and your favourite DJ, me feeling little bit clingy, as per, and I want some love," Cox said.
During the show, Cox shared an anecdote about her husband, Ben Cyzer, trying to avoid hearing the score of the England football match while sleeping downstairs to ensure she rested before the debut.
"Spoiler alert, I might mention the football just for six seconds, and then come back to me, but my husband last night slept downstairs so I could get a good night's sleep, and he was like, 'I'm gonna wake up in the morning, I'm gonna watch the footy highlights, so don't tell me who won, don't tell me the score or anything'," Cox said.
Cox explained that a passing football fan outside their home inadvertently shouted the final 3-2 scoreline, ruining the surprise for her husband.
"So he's laying in the front room and he just wakes up, and he hears a football fan coming down the street, 'Where were you when we won 3-2?'"
Cox said.
The host then expressed gratitude to Gary Davies, who temporarily managed the morning slot after the BBC dismissed the previous host, 53-year-old Mills, amid a Metropolitan Police investigation into historical allegations from 2016.
"For the past few months, a legend has been doing breakfast, and we can't not say thank you to him this morning," Cox said.
She praised Davies for stepping into the position during a transitional period for the radio network.
"He was parachuted in. He did a proper shift.
The one, the only, you love him, Mr Gary Davies," Cox said.
The broadcast featured actor Tom Hanks as the first guest in a pre-recorded interview, who offered encouragement regarding the pressure of starting a new project.
Hanks noted that confidence typically arrives by the third day of working together.
He also reacted to a listener's story about two non-verbal brothers who utilized his Toy Story character, Woody, to improve their communication skills.
"You've got a friend in me," Hanks said.
The new program retains several segments from Cox's previous afternoon show, such as "Kids In the Car," while introducing new features titled "Surprise and Shine" and "Let's hear it for the noise."
Cox joins Chris Evans and Zoe Ball as the only former Radio 1 breakfast DJs to host the corresponding morning show on Radio 2.
Upcoming guests for the week include Olivia Rodrigo on Wednesday and Matt Damon on Friday.
