Presenter out and about matchmaking
Sara Cox has spent over two decades making her mark in the land of TV and radio – but it’s only really in the last 10 years that she’s felt a true purpose, as she tells Gemma Dunn
Sara Cox is recalling the time she successfully played match-maker.
“There was somebody on Twitter called Ross, and he followed me – this was a few years ago now,” she begins excitedly.
“I used to chat with him and banter with him because he was hilarious – and there was a young lady who saw him bantering and also thought he was pretty funny, so she started following me.
“She Tweeted him and they got chatting and now they’re on their second child – they got married and everything and I kind of brought them together,” reports Cox, 43. “They live up in Cumbria. Ross and Amy!”
But far from reeling off past conquests, the popular radio DJ is simply talking up her skills ahead of her new BBC Two dating show, Love In The Countryside.
Going back to her roots, Cox will traipse the countryside in the hope of helping eight rural dwellers from across the UK find love with urbanites seeking their perfect partner – and a dramatically different lifestyle.
With cupid’s arrow ready to strike, it’s a part the Bolton-born star felt compelled to play.
“I am quite soppy and I feel really blessed that I have a lovely husband,” says the mother of three.
“[But] it’s so exciting. You live vicariously through your single friends, as it’s always fun to hear about their adventures in singleton life!
“It appealed to me to help people find love, but also the countryside dynamic to this show is so interesting. It’s a completely new angle,” she reasons, having grown up on her family farm.
Of the feel-good role, Cox adds: “I am the presenter, but I kind of keep popping up like a slightly over-eager best friend or an annoying sister.
“The people that I’m chatting to, they’re so lovely but it’s my job to try and get out of them what they’re really thinking and how they’re really feeling.
“To quote Esther Rantzen,” she says, laughing. “She said – and she’s been widowed for many years and is dating again – ‘I’ve got lots of people to do lots of lovely things with, but I just want somebody to do nothing with’. And I think that really sums it up.
“It’s that getting in, putting the telly on, watching The Apprentice or whatever, and having a brew,” muses Cox.
“You know, just reading through the papers on a Sunday morning. Just having someone there with you on the couch or sitting up in bed.
“Our singletons on Love In The Countryside, they’re really dedicated to their farm but they need a partner,” she elaborates. “[Someone] who is going to be there to support them and share their adventures.
“I don’t think they’re the sort of people to want to swipe left or right on Tinder,” she adds. “They’re looking for a little bit more commitment.”
For this six-part series is certainly no Love Island, quips Cox.
“There’s not going to be bikinis or bad language or drunkenness or fighting or drama,” she pledges.
“But what’s interesting when you’ve got a range of ages [the rural folk range from 25-59 years] is their outlook on life and their outlook on finding a partner.
“We’ve got Wendy who is really hot to trot. She’s our pig farmer, she’s gorgeous, she runs miles every day and runs rings around everybody else. So they’re not being tucked up with a blanket,” she insists.
“They’re showing the young ‘uns how it’s done.”
How does Cox think she would fare in the modern world of dating, then?
“Thank the Lord, I’d hate to be single now!” she responds. “I’d be terrible; I wouldn’t have the energy. It’s all the meeting the friends, meeting the family. I am grateful that I’ve got my lovely husband.
“[But] I do think it’s really difficult,” she follows. “There should be a website for very confident women who have got their own businesses, to find men who aren’t intimidated by that.
“I think there’s a danger sometimes, whether you’re male or female, to get along fine by yourself and actually you stop putting in the effort to meet people.”
Do she and husband Ben Cyzer find time for date nights amid their busy London lives?
“We’ve not been for ages, actu- ally,” she admits. “I’ve been working away a lot – ironically on Love in the Countryside, which has been making it difficult for me to concentrate on my own love life. But no, we’re due a cinema trip for sure,” she says.
It’s hardly surprising, however. For Cox – in addition to a hectic home life – has barely taken a breather from a two-decade career, that has seen her rise to fame as a model, DJ, radio and TV presenter.
“It’s been crazy. I can’t believe it, really. And some of my critics can’t either!” she jokes.
“I feel a little like the first decade was quite mad, quite a roller coaster with the Breakfast Show in there and my first baby and a lot of partying and a lot of crazy times – and then I feel like the second decade has had a bit more purpose to it,” confides Cox, whose recent gigs have included Sounds of the 80s on BBC Radio 2 and TV show Back in Time.
“The last decade I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve got to do,” she says, revealing she’s currently in the process of writing a book.
“I’ve had two more kids and I’ve been a lot more settled because I’m really happy with Ben, so I’ve had a really brilliant time so far.”
Love in the Countryside begins on BBC Two on Wednesday, May 2.
Thank the Lord, I’d hate to be single now! I’d be terrible.