Thrown: SARA COX'S GLORIOUS FEELGOOD NOVEL

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She's been hosting Drivetime since 2019, presents the weekly BBC Two book programme Between The Covers, and is currently hosting the new eight-part series Britain's Top Takeaways, in which the country's best independent takeaways go head to head. I grew up half on my dad’s farm but half on a little council estate nearby. I liked the cosiness and wanted to reflect that. I could also picture the layout in my mind – the community centre, the little doctors…

It actually felt quite nice between her fingers and thumb, rolling the little lumps like dried peas just under the surface. Must do something about that, she thought, though it’d been an age since she’d been to Zumba. Cox, who lives in north London with her family, had hoped that presenting Drivetime, from 5pm to 7pm, would give her more of a work-life balance. She has three children - Lola (17) from her first marriage, and Isaac (14) and Renee (12) with advertising executive Cyzer. I liked the setting of the housing estate. It brought these disparate group of people together, giving a sense of commonality to them. The community centre was at the heart of the story, reflecting the intention of it in the estate.

Nonsense.’ He frowned. ‘You can handle this – it’s a pottery class you’re organising not a military coup. It’s a positive thing, people will love it. They need something like this to bring them together a bit.’ She’s very much a mashup of Bette Midler and Betty from Coronation Street but my mum is convinced that Sheila is basically her. The assorted neighbours come together to try out a new skill, under the watchful eye of their charismatic teacher, Sasha. And as the soft unremarkable lumps of clay are hesitantly, lovingly moulded into delicate vases and majestic pots, so, too, are the lives of four women. Her daily Radio 2 teatime show is a consistently joyful listen, where she has established a cosy and inclusive community by putting her listeners front and centre. She’s a gem of a presenter, with natural warmth and humour in spades, and is clearly in her element, never sounding anything less than delighted to be there. The assorted neighbours come together to try out a new skill, under the watchful eye of their charismatic teacher, Sasha. And as the soft unremarkable lumps of clay are hesitantly, lovingly moulded into delicate vases and majestic pots, so too are the lives of four women. Concealed passions and heartaches are uncovered, relationships shattered and formed, and the possibility for transformation is revealed. My Review of Thrown

At that point, my youngest child was 10 and I felt like I was making 1,000 sandwiches a day because they all just needed feeding and I had no head space. I was getting up early and trying to get in a 5am chunk of writing." The themes here are generally cuddly and inoffensive, whether it’s starting a new career later in life, cross-generational bonding, female solidarity, or learning to better understand and support your partner. But the method of delivery, with its predictable contrivances, suspicions and miscommunications, is soapier than a bubble bath, and about as somniferous. Thrown never ascends beyond the level of a potboiler. I mean, let’s not mess about, teatime on Radio 2 is the dream,’ she says. ‘My biggest ambition was to get a daytime show on Radio 2, and so everything else around it is just an added extra bit of fabulousness. Social media is like the Wild West. I just hope that younger women in the media have the tools to handle it.’ – Sara Cox Sara Cox on her husband and personal lifeFemale friendship is a major feature in her debut novel, Thrown, about four women from the same estate who meet for a new pottery class at the local community centre - a setting inspired by her time as presenter on The Great Pottery Throwdown. The inhabitants of the Inventor’s Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly ‘Hellos’ when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number 7’s wheelie bin, but it’s not exactly Ramsay Street. I think they are competitive with themselves, but we are all pretty supportive of each other," explains Cox. Because of the nature of the beast at Radio 2, we are all there at different times. I won't bump into Claudia there but I will text her when she's on air on a Saturday morning."

Sheila: the nest is empty, there's a lonely little feeling in her tummy and her husband seems so distracted. I don't think that reflects on me," she says, laughing. "But I've definitely had times when my career's been a little bit quieter and I've thought, 'What if...', and 'Should I have done this?', and 'Have I made the right decision?' He told me that I should be getting work and was just really encouraging. I met Richard Madeley for a coffee as well and he was lovely. I only knew them both “ish” at the time, but it’s about not being afraid to ask people for help.’ ‘I was trying to advertise myself and it was toe-curling. But [my agent] was right, because you just never know.’– Sara Cox Reaching career goals The inhabitants of the Inventor's Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly 'Hellos' when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number seven's wheelie bin, but it's not exactly Ramsay Street.I finished the book and was left with very little reaction to it at all. Perhaps some sadness, pleasure, hope, puzzlement or, in fact anything at all, would have been acceptable, but it was not apparent on this occasion. Sadly, it was an endless slog through fairly uninspired scenarios peopled with relatively mundane characters. Cox is good at her designated job and is an excellent broadcaster, and l feel sorry that I was not more impressed with this book.