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Sara Cox has announced her first Radio 2 Breakfast Show will launch on Monday July 6 as she replaces Scott Mills.
It was announced in April that the presenter, 51, would take over the Breakfast Show this summer, after Scott was sacked after it was discovered he had been the subject of allegations of 'serious sexual offences' against a teenage boy under 16.
And on Monday morning Sara appeared on Vernon Kay's Radio 2 show to share the news as she took on fellow presenter Jeremy Vine in the programme's popular quiz, Ten to the Top.
Sara also revealed that her first guest will be none other than Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who will be joining her to talk about his new film Toy Story 5.
Speaking to Vernon, Sara said: 'OK, my big news is...god, I've gone all hot and excited. My big news is that...there's been quite a lot of mystery about when the brand new Sara Cox Breakfast Show begins on BBC Radio 2.
'I've been quite mysterious and going, "it's in the summer" and waggling my eyebrows mysteriously.
Sara Cox has announced her Radio 2 Breakfast Show will launch on Monday July 6
'But I can now announce, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone in between, please do join me for my very first Breakfast Show on Radio 2 on 6th of July. Three weeks today! Very very excited. It is 6.30am. The date is the 6th of July.'
Jeremy asked Sara: 'How many alarm clocks are you going to use?'
Laughing, Sara replied: '42. And it's the first-ever Sara Cox Breakfast Show. I can't wait – it's so exciting.'
Jeremy said: 'We can't wait. We're so proud of you.'
Fellow Bolton-born presenter Vernon shared his delight, saying: 'Amazing!'
Sara said: 'And, you know, I mentioned the Toy Story news as well. I mean, I don't know where we go from here because I think we've started almost too big. My very first guest on the Sara Cox Breakfast Show will be…Mr. Tom Hanks.'
Vernon said: 'Awh legend. The nicest man in showbusiness.'
A pleased Sara said: 'Woody at Breakfast. Yes, cannot wait!'
Excited for her breakfast debut, Sara told fans: 'Roll on the 6th July! For generations to come people will (probably) say '"where were YOU when the Sara Cox Breakfast Show was launched on Radio 2 featuring the legendary Tom Hanks?" and hopefully they'll reply 'listening and laughing along with a nice brew'.
Sara also revealed that her first guest will be none other than Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who will be joining her to talk about his new film Toy Story 5
The Sara Cox Breakfast Show on Radio 2 will feature a fresh new format and will feature some of the world's biggest stars into her studio for exclusive chats and memorable moments.
On Friday, Sara took to Instagram to share that she'd recorded the final episode of her teatime show, and marked the occasion by enjoying a swanky dinner at the Devonshire Soho.
She shared snaps alongside her team and from the meal, enjoying a well-deserved non-alcoholic Guinness after 'seven years of silliness.'
She captioned the post: '7 and a half years of silliness all wrapped up with some Pato Banton and a booze free Guinness.
'All Request Friday from 4pm today then that’s ya lot! Thank you for listening to teatime @bbcradio2 - the manking about & general daftness will continue soon on The Sara Cox Breakfast Show…. (Please come with me!)'
Scott and his close friend Sara 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 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.'
Moreover, many members of the public seem to be standing by Scott.
Britain also fell in love with him and his husband Sam when they won the BBC2 show Celebrity Race Across The World in 2024.
One source said: ‘Sam has been a great source of support, and appearing by his side in public was a defiant display of loyalty.
‘It must be hard when your partner is accused of a sex crime, but Sam has been a trouper, he has been amazing.
‘He’s the one thing that is keeping Scott going.’
A source told Hind that ‘Sam is staunchly standing by Scott. He has been propping him up.
‘It has been an absolutely devastating time for him and while to some it might seem strange that a person would stay with someone embroiled in a scandal like this, there is no chance of Sam leaving.' Read more here.
Scott was sacked from the BBC after it was discovered he had been the subject of allegations of 'serious sexual offences' against a teenage boy under 16
Scott was questioned under caution by police in 2018 but the case was rejected by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2019 due to a lack of evidence. The BBC admitted that it knew about the allegations as far back as 2017.
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.
One said: 'Scott is devastated, but he is also furious. He has lost not just his job but also something he loved over a police investigation which was dropped many years ago. He has lawyers. They are aggressive, and they are determined to get justice for him.
'Scott feels wronged, and there is a view that the BBC used him as a scapegoat to show that by sacking him the BBC has been cleaned up from past scandals such as Huw Edwards and Jimmy Savile.
'Essentially, Scott wants to clear his name. He wants to come out and tell his story but he can't do that until the legal fight comes to a close.
'Being fired has broken him. His mental health is in a very fragile place and, to him and his legal team, it feels totally unjustified, so they are fighting the BBC. There is an obvious claim for unfair dismissal here. Decisions like this ruin lives, and this one has ruined Scott's.'
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