{"id":145581,"date":"2023-11-26T07:08:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T07:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritywshow.com\/?p=145581"},"modified":"2023-11-26T07:08:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T07:08:30","slug":"inside-sara-coxs-family-life-3-kids-a-misbehaving-horse-and-tortoises-stuck-in-the-football-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritywshow.com\/tv-movies\/inside-sara-coxs-family-life-3-kids-a-misbehaving-horse-and-tortoises-stuck-in-the-football-net\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Sara Cox\u2019s family life – 3 kids, a misbehaving horse, and tortoises stuck in the football net"},"content":{"rendered":"

She\u2019s the queen of Radio 2 Drivetime, is about to publish her second novel and is hosting the seventh successful series of her BBC Two book club, Between The Covers \u2013 but there are moments in life that bring Sara Cox back down to earth with a bump. <\/p>\n

\u201cNelly pooed on my hand the other day,\u201d she deadpans as she reveals how buying a horse during lockdown changed her life, mainly for the better. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe dropped lovely big, warm, soft, ping pong balls of s**t on me,\u201d laughs Sara. \u201cShe trumps on my head most days as I\u2019m picking out her back feet, but this was a new one on me, where she actually s**t on me. I can\u2019t have any airs and graces around my animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nelly is a half-thoroughbred, half-Irish draught, and owning her has fulfilled a lifelong dream for animal lover and Jilly Cooper fan Sara. She also has three dogs named Daisy, Dolly and Pip, two cats named Watson and Peggy, and two \u201cquite posh\u201d tortoises called Tom and Chally. <\/p>\n

The tortoises are currently hibernating. \u201cThey\u2019re packed away in a cat carrier with loads of straw and shredded paper,\u201d explains Sara. \u201cI\u2019ll get them up about April, depending on the weather.\u201d <\/p>\n

The tortoises were given to Sara by an elderly lady she met while volunteering with ReEngage UK, which runs monthly tea parties aimed at helping older people connect. <\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the lovely women asked me if I could take them on, so I asked my husband and I expected him to be like, \u2018Nah!\u2019 but he said, \u2018Why not?\u2019 so now they just wander around the garden all summer,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey occasionally get caught in a football net and I have to get all David Attenborough and free them. I never have any leftover veg, they eat it all. They\u2019re quite posh though, they\u2019re into a bit of avocado.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sara, who turns 49 in December, has been married to Ben Cyzer since 2013 and is mum to daughter Lola Anne, 19, from her first marriage to DJ Jon Carter, son Isaac, 15, and daughter Renee, 13. The family live in north London and Nelly is stabled in nearby Hertfordshire. <\/p>\n

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She is toying with the idea of buying some land and expanding her menagerie to include pigs and hens, and husband Ben is on board. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been a bit of a pipe dream, but I\u2019d love to have a little smallholding at some point,\u201d she says. \u201cMy dad\u2019s a farmer, he\u2019s got a beef farm up north in Bolton. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d have Nelly and I\u2019d love a rescue pony, because I\u2019m an ambassador for World Horse Welfare, who have ponies that can\u2019t be ridden but are good to be pals. Plus a couple of little pigs.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sara does, however, draw the line at goats. \u201cThey\u2019re full-on and destructive,\u201d she laughs, musing, \u201cI might have a few laying hens, get a little egg for brekkie.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sara loves being out in the countryside and takes her dog Daisy whenever she goes galloping on Nelly. For her, riding relieves stress and makes her feel grounded. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you space to think, but you can\u2019t think too much, because you\u2019ve got to be aware,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

Although she will turn 50 next year, Sara could be mistaken for a 25-year-old. Her Instagram even has a photograph of her showing off a hard-won six pack, which she says was from following The Six Pack Revolution diet, rather than hours of rising trot. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great,\u201d laughs Sara, admitting she has let her abs relax somewhat since. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be under there lurking?\u201d she says, adding, \u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019m riding fit. When you ride you use your inside thighs a lot, you use different bits of you, all across the top, your back and the back of your legs.\u201d <\/p>\n

She also lifts weights and has recently transformed her garage into a gym. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI was working out in there before,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I was surrounded by garden chairs and straw for the tortoises and all the paint was flaking off because it was damp. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing burpees breathing in paint and mould and I just thought, \u2018Maybe I need to get this sorted.\u2019 I do love working out and I love doing weights.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sara delights millions with her Radio 2 show and is first and foremost known as a DJ. However, thanks to the success of Between The Covers and her bestselling debut novel Thrown, she is enjoying turning a passion for books into a career. <\/p>\n

The seventh series of Between The Covers is currently showing on BBC Two and this run has already featured stars such as Jo Brand, Alex Jones, Anita Rani, Adam Kay and Richard Armitage. <\/p>\n

Sara loves reading and since starting the TV show has even started to enjoy more than one book at once. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking we should be rethinking how we read,\u201d explains Sara. \u201cThat\u2019s what Between The Covers has made me do. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI very much look at my Kindle like my telly, so I\u2019ll have a few great books on there and I\u2019m reading them all at different times, depending on my mood, which is how I look at BBC iPlayer and Netflix or Amazon Prime. I never used to read more than one book at a time before Between The Covers.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reading helps Sara unwind before bedtime, and it\u2019s Gyles Brandreth who is currently sending her off to the land of nod. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t sleep in the middle of the night I will read on my Kindle, such as Gyles Brandreth\u2019s latest memoir,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not that it\u2019s boring, so it sends me to sleep. It helps me to sleep because it\u2019s really charming and really interesting and it just takes my mind off the fact that I\u2019m awake and it\u2019s 3am. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I want something to cheer me up, I\u2019ve got Sarah Millican\u2019s autobiography. Otherwise, I love a modern-day novel that is about relationships and love, with a bit of struggle in there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her favourite guests on Between The Covers include comedians Rob Delaney and Adrian Edmondson, as well as one of her childhood heroes, broadcaster and author Sandi Toksvig. <\/p>\n

\u201cSandi is an absolute icon,\u201d gushes Sara. \u201cI grew up with her on the telly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was fully ready to be starstruck. She laughed at all my jokes and was an absolute superstar.\u201d <\/p>\n

Guests bring a book from their own shelves to discuss on the show, but Sara would be mortified if someone wanted to discuss one of her books. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt would be like throwing water on a witch! I would melt from embarrassment and I wouldn\u2019t be able to cope,\u201d she protests. \u201cOn the radio some DJs read out, \u2018Loving the show.\u2019 You won\u2019t hear that on my show. I get my assistant producer to snip out any praise. I hate it!\u201d <\/p>\n

Sara certainly isn\u2019t alone in feeling that way. Many of us struggle to accept compliments and it is something she is trying to work on \u2013 to a point. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf a girlfriend tells me they love my hair, I no longer go, \u2018Oh God, it\u2019s horrible. It looks like three shredded wheat that\u2019s been stuck to my head and I\u2019m a terrible person,\u2019\u201d laughs Sara. <\/p>\n

\u201cI try now to go, \u2018Thanks babe!\u2019 But I hate anything self-congratulatory. If I\u2019m on the radio I don\u2019t just want to be reading out how much people love me, even though, obviously, millions do.\u201d <\/p>\n

Between the Covers is created by Cactus TV and next airs on Monday at 7pm on BBC Two. Available on BBC iPlayer. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n