There were years where you could not get me arrested,’ she says, frankly. ‘My agent was amazing because, unless you put yourself in front of them, people do forget that you’re there. So she’d take me for a coffee and a biscuit with some commissioner, like she was trying to auction me off. Four women, neighbours though not close enough to be friends. Brought together by a pottery class at the community centre, the story follows them through the space of a few weeks, dealing with what life has thrown at them. I'd love this to be a thing, if I can," she says of writing. "It's so different to everything else I do."

Funnily enough, I’ve just been recording a show with Jonathan Ross, and he was one of the people I turned to for advice. It wasn’t like he said: “Ring this number, they’ll give you a job!” but he gave me confidence. Her husband hasn't read her novel and didn't read her memoir, she notes, laughing. "He doesn't read a great deal," she explains. "He might look at a book while we're in bed, but I don't think he wants to read a book about me or by me when he's laying next to me."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 felt like these ideas would just bubble up, like they were coming from the characters. It was a bit like Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost. The ending came to me in the middle of the night: I was half-dreaming, half-awake, and I thought: “Aaah! That’s what’s going to happen!” Riders and Polo combined fruity frolics and horses and that blew my 15-year-old mind So, I don’t think I would really change anything, because the way it’s panned out has worked quite well. Plus, my career dips coincided with my children being really young, so that meant that I was about a lot for my kids on the nursery run and the little daytime music classes.’ Sara Cox on how women are scrutinized by the media

Becky

With plans for a second novel already underway, Cox is excited about what lies ahead. This is her second wind and, in many ways, it feels like she’s only just getting started. I really want to like the book, and hence the even greater disappointment as I progressed through it.

The juicy bits are too juicy for consumption," she reveals, laughing. "I can't remember half of it, to be honest. I could put together a photo album from old copies of Heat magazine, so I could work out roughly what I was doing throughout the Nineties, but there would definitely be big gaps." Get this: my cleaner has organised them by colour. It’s not great and I’m too polite to say anything. I don’t know why I’m whispering – I don’t think she reads the Observer. Radio has always featured a lot of brilliant women and a lot of great female producers and execs. I've an all-female team - a female producer and female assistant producer - and it's a really supportive place to work."

Cox eventually moved permanently to Radio 2 in 2013 to host Saturday night show Sounds of the 80s and it was from there that her patience began to pay off and her fortunes started to change. As an argument for the therapeutic powers of pot-throwing, it’s certainly effective. But as the opening salvo from Cox the novelist, it’s distinctly less convincing. Although she supposedly switches between four different points of view, her third-person narration remains in the same brisk voice – sometimes humorous, seldom distinctive. So why not reduce the cast list and add more depth to the characterisation? I think they are competitive with themselves, but we are all pretty supportive of each other," explains Cox.

I think I’m just really bad at concentrating on one thing at a time, and I get quite baffled trying to live my life like that. But sleep is really important to me. And exercise – that keeps me on an even keel.’ Looking to the future There is yet so much potential, given the breadth of topics which can be explored, such as the empty nest syndrome, the emerging skeletons within a marriage and childlessness. Not to mention the theme of pottery, which actually can be a nice parallel of the four main protagonists shaping themselves further. I was trying to advertise myself and it was toe-curling. But she was right, because you just never know. I mean, I was always working but I was just doing weekends and I wanted to do more. I really wanted to do telly again as well.’ Asking for help The story centres around four women who attend the local community centre for a pottery class. They all have problems. The characters are likeable, interesting and believable. A story of friendships, that are heartwarming and funny. This enjoyable read held my attention throughout.It does feel like I’m in a really golden era of my career. I’m blessed at the moment with a great balance. I actually have to be careful not to say yes to everything, which is a tendency I have from my upbringing, being working class and having that work ethic. But it’s been a really, really brilliant few years for me career-wise.’ Coping with career struggles Whilst there is romance, this is not a love story. It is more a story about connecting with others, realising what we want from life and trying something new. It’s a story of friendship and every day life, full of little dramas and periods of calm. I'm definitely in a golden era of my career. I go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it," Cox admits. 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.