Scott Mills took Sara Cox's Radio 1 job when she was on maternity leave and twenty years on she reveals how she's ready to replace her axed friend on Radio 2

Sara Cox is preparing to take over the biggest radio job in the country, when she steps up to the mic on July 6 to launch her Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

It was announced in April that the presenter, 51, would take over the Breakfast Show  after Scott Mills was sacked when it was discovered he had been the subject of allegations of 'serious sexual offences' against a teenage boy under 16. 

It's not the first time the presenters, and good friends, have traded jobs though.

Sara was demoted from the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 2003 after a period of declining ratings, Chris Moyles took it over and she moved to Drivetime, swapping shows with Chris.

Six months later she went off on maternity leave and Scott, who had temporarily taken over the Drivetime slot was given the role full time whilst Sara was relegated to a weekend afternoon slot when she returned to the BBC much earlier than she would have liked after giving birth. 

Sara admits she was disappointed at the time 'because I'm ambitious and I've always wanted to get on,' but adds that the job swapping is commonplace across BBC radio.

She was also first in the running for the Radio 2 breakfast show six years ago but Zoe Ball got the gig and she had to settle instead for teatime.

'It's like a zombie apocalypse, people hammering away at the doors at Radio 2 to try to get a slot because it's such a great station,' she explained to The Sunday Times Magazine. 

'When things haven't gone well for me, I've not been blaming other people. I knew then and look back now and know that I wasn't on top of my game. I had other distractions.'

On reflection she says the move twenty years ago allowed her to focus on parenting. 

'Looking back, the quieter times in my career have been more of a blessing than a curse... my children were really young, so I could look like I was a really good, hands-on mum. I could do all the nursery runs and all the school runs. I was on first-name terms with most of the zookeepers at London Zoo.'

Now, at the age of 51, she is ready for the biggest job in her broadcast career, gushing: 'It's huge but I'm ready... the minute I open my mic, I'll be fine. I'm not nervous because I know I can do a good job. I don't want to sound arrogant but I've been doing radio for 28 years now.'

Of replacing Scott, Sara refused to comment on the allegations against her friend, telling the magazine: 'I completely understand why you're asking but I know no more than you do about the whole thing.'

Sara and Scott have been friends and BBC colleagues for three decades, since they both started at Radio 1 within a year of one another in the late Nineties. Sara was a guest at Scott and husband Sam's 2024 wedding.

In April, BBC Radio 2 star Jeremy Vine described Scott as a 'very popular bloke', adding that very little reasoning was given by BBC management for his sacking at the time.

Vine said in contrast former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to making indecent images of children, was a 'bully'.

He also described Edwards as a very private and unknowable quantity, who 'didn’t really have a good word to say about anyone'.

Vine said he sent Scott a message at the time of his sacking saying: 'I hold you in the highest regard and I wish you all the best.'

In May, Daily Mail's Katie Hind revealed Scott is suing the BBC after it axed him.

Scott believes he was unfairly dismissed and his legal team at the London-based firm Level Law has been corresponding with the corporation, his employers for 28 years, for weeks.

Friends of Mills believe he was used as a 'scapegoat' by the BBC's then outgoing director-general Tim Davie, who took a zero-tolerance approach after a string of recent scandals relating to Huw Edwards, Gregg Wallace and Jermaine Jenas.