Radio host Sara Cox has expressed lifelong respect for actress Patsy Kensit, recalling the actress's 'classy' response to a harsh on-air comment Cox made early in her broadcasting career. The incident occurred in the mid-1990s when Cox, then 21, was presenting "The Girlie Show" on Channel 4.
During her time on the show, Cox would annually select a "Wker/Wkerette of the Week." On one occasion, she targeted Kensit, then married to Liam Gallagher, with the remark: "Your lips are like your knees. They never meet." Cox admitted that shortly after, she encountered Liam Gallagher backstage at "Top of the Pops" and he was not pleased, which she found devastating as she was an Oasis fan.
However, the interaction with Kensit herself proved to be very different. Cox recounted running into Kensit at the restaurant Nobu, where the actress waved her over. "She was so friendly and classy," Cox said, reflecting on the encounter. "It was either the ultimate kill-it-with-kindness or she hadn't seen the telly or she just thought I was young and silly and who cares? I've always really respected her after that."
Cox, who is about to take over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, noted that she would not make such a comment today. She stated that she doesn't regret the show, however, as it launched her broadcast career and enabled her to move away from her hometown of Bolton. Cox wrote her own monologues for "The Girlie Show" and enjoyed making people laugh, a trait she attributes to being the youngest of five siblings.
Cox also addressed the "ladette" label often associated with her and contemporaries like Zoe Ball during the 1990s and early 2000s. She described it as a period where they went out and had fun but were also ambitious and conscientious. Cox believes that for young women at the time, it was empowering to see women with a voice who could be themselves without shame, refuting the notion that it was solely about heavy drinking.
Cox is set to begin hosting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on July 6, taking over the role from Scott Mills. Mills was reportedly axed after allegations of sexual offenses against a teenage boy surfaced. Cox and Mills have been colleagues and friends for three decades, having started at Radio 1 within a year of each other in the late 1990s. In May, it was reported that Mills is suing the BBC for unfair dismissal.