Sara Cox reveals brutal insult fuming Liam Gallagher hurled at her after she was ‘mean’ to girlfriend Patsy Kensit on TV

CHEEKY Sara Cox admits she once relished abusing celebrities in a TV segment called “W**ker Of The Week”. The DJ and telly presenter, who has just taken over as host of BBC Radio 2’s flagship breakfast show, is now seen as a safe pair of hands. Sara Cox has just taken over as host of BBC Radio 2’s flagship breakfast show, is nowadays seen as a pair of safe hands Credit: Getty Back in the 1990s, Sara was a wild upstart who mocked big stars’ behaviour on The Girlie Show Credit: Steve Perry But back in the 1990s, Sara loved taking the mick out of big stars’ ­behaviour on The Girlie Show. And she recalls how Oasis singer Liam Gallagher once told her to “f*** off” after targeting his then-wife Patsy Kensit on the Channel 4 programme. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! Sara, 51, who co-hosted the late-night show from 1996 to 1997, said: “W**ker of the Week was so mean. “It was like anyone was fair game if you’re in the public eye. READ MORE ON LIAM GALLAGHER “I used to present them in the production meeting quite proudly — ‘Here’s this week’s w**ker’. And the producers would be, like, ‘Great!’. “I was absolutely buzzing that they liked my writing. It would be a minute-and-a-half takedown of someone in the public eye, be it Chris Evans or Liam Gallagher. And then I did Patsy Kensit.” Sara, then 21, later decided it would be a good idea to approach Liam backstage at Top Of The Pops. Sara says Liam Gallagher was furious when she mocked his wife Patsy Kensit Credit: Getty Sara took over the coveted BBC Radio 2 breakfast show following the shock sacking of Scott Mills Credit: PA She said: “I don’t know why I went over — I’d called his wife a w**ker on the telly the week before. I was completely fearless. Most read in Showbiz “I was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll go and say hello. I really like his music’. “And he was quite rightly miffed at me. He knew who I was and what I had done. “He was, like, ‘Yeah, you can f* off, you slag!’ I don’t know what else I was expecting.” The dressing down was so brutal that Sara could not bring herself to listen to Oasis afterwards. She said: “They were huge, but I was, like, ‘Well, that’s ruined Definitely, Maybe for the foreseeable’. “I’ve said hello to him since. I don’t think there’s any ill feeling there now.It was a different time.” Nearly three decades later, Sara has taken over the coveted BBC Radio 2 breakfast show ­following the shock sacking of Scott Mills. Scott Mills and Sara Cox are believed to be good pals and have been spotted out partying together over the years Credit: Getty Sara says she won’t ever get dragged into politics — like sacked BBC sports pundit Gary Lineker Credit: BBC The Bolton-born star is excited about being able to gossip with A-listers on air — but always wants them to become her new best friend. On Adam Buxton’s podcast, Sara said: “You know . . . like the unlikely friendship that’ll blossom between little old me and this Hollywood superstar. “Of course it wouldn’t happen. But how cool to be mates with Cameron Diaz!” A lot has changed since she took aim at the likes of Liam and Patsy. Newly-released figures reveal Sara earned between £320,000 and £324,999 last year — though that is set to soar now she has taken over the breakfast slot. And she is acutely aware that one wrong move could land her in seriously hot water. Sara told the podcast: “I really like my job and I don’t want to get in trouble. It’s as simple as that. “I’ve always been really proud that I’m BBC hatched and nurtured and reared. “I just think it’s one of the best ­institutions in the world. I genuinely do. “Of course, I want to uphold that and not get in trouble.” It is also why Sara will never get dragged into politics — like axed BBC sports pundit Gary Lineker. She said: “I’m in a lucky position because the show that I do is playing music and trying to make people chuckle as they make their tea or their toast in the morning. “I don’t have to tackle any thornier issues and navigate those choppy waters. “I think that’s why people come to me on the radio — because they don’t want to think about anything bad. “They want a shiny, shiny distraction and I love being a shiny, shiny distraction. It’s great.” Sara says Radio 2 listeners want her to be “warm and friendly”, but funny, too. And as the youngest of five siblings, she loves that element because she was always cracking jokes as a kid to get attention.She grew up on a farm before becoming a model and then breaking into ­television on The Girlie Show. She joined Radio 1 in 1999 and, a year later, took over its breakfast show from close friend Zoe Ball. “For me, radio was just like, ‘Oh, I’m home’. It feels like the love of my life,” Sara said. “I love everything about live radio. I felt like it was a really natural home for me. Right away, I loved the immediacy of it and being able to communicate with listeners like that.” Over the years, Sara’s personal life has changed just as dramatically as her career. She married DJ Jon Carter in 2001 and they had daughter Lola in 2004, before splitting the following year. The star then went on to find love with advertising executive Ben Cyzer, who she married in 2013. They have two children — son Isaac, 18, and daughter Renee, 16. And Sara, who was once dubbed a “ladette”, says late nights are no longer an option. Nowadays, she is in bed by 9pm, ready for her 5am wake-up call. The news of Sara’s move to the sought after Breakfast Show slot broke earlier this year Credit: PA Sara was once dubbed a “ladette” but says late nights are no longer an option with her 5am wake-up call Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Sara explained: “We have no social life. We’re real homebodies to the point where I’m like, ‘No, we need to start doing stuff more’. “I get up at five, which isn’t that bad. I’m good mates with Greg James, who does Radio 1 Breakfast, and I ­messaged him going, ‘I forgot the worst thing about doing a breakfast show is people asking you what time you have to get up’. “Everybody does it . . . cabbies, everybody. Everyone’s fascinated, like, ‘Oh, you poor f***er. What time do you get up? Is it three? Four?’. “So they’re quite disappointed when I’m, like, ‘5am’. “I’ve timed myself. I can put make-up on in eight minutes because obviously there are cameras now. “I practised making my filter coffee the night before and ­putting it in the fridge with the milk in it, and I zap it in the morning. “But I go to bed about 9pm. That’s not too ­catastrophic.” Since hitting her 50s, Sara admits she has become increasingly conscious about getting older. She said: “There’s just no new things. There’s no new experiences. “That’s why time just flies, because your brain’s not having all these little learning moments of, ‘Oh, what’s this?’. “One of the tragedies of life is that when you do start to get really good at it, you then get old and knackered, and then it fs up and you die.” Since landing her dream job, Sara can’t help but wait for things to go awry. “I’ve always been a bit like that,” she revealed. “Just sort of, like, ‘This is good. What’s going to go wrong?’. “Obviously, when you’re young, you’re just, like, ‘Bring it on!’. “But touch wood, I’m sort of in a sweet spot at the moment.” And long may it continue. Comment now