Sara Cox to replace Scott Mills as BBC Radio 2 Breakfast host

Sara Cox will become the new host of BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show later this summer, moving into the station’s most valuable weekday slot after Scott Mills was removed in March 2026 following allegations about his personal conduct and a historical sexual offence.

The appointment keeps one of the BBC’s most recognisable radio voices at the centre of its schedule. Cox, 51, is originally from Bolton and has fronted Radio 2’s weekday teatime programme since 2019. The BBC has not yet announced who will replace her in the 4pm to 7pm slot, and further handover details are expected later.

Cox said she was “ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed” and described the promotion as a “full circle” moment. That language fits the arc of a career that began on BBC Radio 1, where she hosted the Breakfast Show from 1999 to 2002 before staying with the station until 2014 and then moving to Radio 2.

Her transfer to breakfast is more than a personnel change. Radio 2’s Breakfast Show reaches about 6.5 million listeners each week, making it one of the BBC’s biggest and most visible daily programmes. By placing Cox into that seat, the broadcaster has chosen an established, familiar presenter rather than a dramatic reset, a sign that legacy radio still sees value in trusted personalities when it is trying to hold mass audiences together.

The decision also underlines how tightly linked breakfast radio remains to scheduling strategy at the BBC. Cox already has a loyal daytime audience and a long institutional history across Radio 1 and Radio 2, which gives the corporation continuity at a moment when it must manage both succession planning and public scrutiny around one of its flagship hosts.

For Radio 2, the handover is as much about protecting the brand as filling a vacancy. The station is shifting one of its best-known names into its biggest job, while leaving her current slot open for a later announcement. That choice suggests the BBC wants to preserve audience familiarity at the top of the day while controlling disruption across the rest of the schedule.

With Cox due to begin her Breakfast Show this summer, Radio 2 has made clear where it thinks its strongest asset still lies: a familiar voice, a proven broadcaster and a programme that still draws millions before the working day begins.