Sara Cox - ‘it made me feel a bit of a failed mum’

Jul 17, 2024

Broadcaster and author Sara Cox discusses her upbringing, career setbacks, and successes. From being a 'ladette' to hosting radio and TV shows, she shares her journey with humor and honesty. Topics include her farming roots, failures in controlling Sacha Baron Cohen, and the media's treatment of her. Cox reflects on learning from her parents' divorce, embracing her talents, and overcoming self-doubt. A candid and entertaining conversation about failures and triumphs.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Work Ethic Rooted In Upbringing

Cox links her strong work ethic and fear of financial insecurity to growing up working-class and watching her mother work hard.
That upbringing motivates her to keep working even when others tell her it's unnecessary.

ANECDOTE

Ali G Live Swearing Debacle

Sarah Cox recounted the 2002 Ali G interview where Sacha Baron Cohen tricked her into a live swearing gag that aired on Radio 1 breakfast show.
She described feeling shell-shocked, unable to control the interview, and bearing most of the blame in the press the next day.

INSIGHT

Gendered Backlash In Media

Cox highlights how culture judged her harder than the male comedian who engineered the stunt and labelled her 'lewd' in press coverage.
She suggests gendered double standards shaped the backlash she experienced after the live incident.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Sara Cox is a broadcaster and author. You might have grown up with her on Radio 1’s iconic Breakfast Show. You might remember her being one of the first so-called ‘ladettes’ (and if you do, we talk about how much she hates this word in the episode). You might have read one of her bestselling books - she wrote a memoir in 2019, followed by two novels, the most recent of which, Way Back, was published in March.

She’s now the host of the most listened to radio show in Europe: BBC Radio 2’s tea time, as well as being on our screens at the helm of the hugely successful TV books show, Between the Covers. But her upbringing was far removed from media luvviedom: she comes from a Lancashire farming family and spent her childhood shuttling between her divorced parents - her father’s farm and her mother’s pub. We talk about how these early experiences affected her and what she learned from her parents’ break-up. We also discuss her failure to farm, her failure to believe she’s ACTUALLY an author and an early career failure to control Sacha Baron Cohen when he was a live guest on Radio 1 (and the media’s misogynistic treatment of Cox in the aftermath).

As always, I’m desperate to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more.

Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com

Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly

Studio and Mix Engineer: Gulliver Tickell and Josh Gibbs

Producer: Hannah Talbot

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini

How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices