Sara Cox in new venture as UK charity collapses with £430k owed

The BBC presenter has revealed that her first Radio 2 Breakfast show will launch on Monday, July 6, (6.30am – 9.30am) with her first guest set to be Hollywood star Tom Hanks.

Speaking on Vernon Kay’s Radio 2 show (9.30am-12pm), about her new venture, Ms Cox said: “Roll on the 6 July!”

She added: “For generations to come people will (probably) say ‘where were YOU when the Sara Cox Breakfast Show was launched on Radio 2 featuring the legendary Tom Hanks?'”

READ MORE: Leading UK charity collapses with £430k owed and jobs lost

The Sara Cox Breakfast Show on Radio 2 will feature a fresh new format, packed with fun and games, as well as the world’s biggest stars.

This news comes after a charity she backed, Auditory Verbal, went into liquidation with jobs lost.

Auditory Verbal stars in BBC One appeal with radio presenter Sara Cox in 2018 (Image: AVUK)

Based in Kirtlington Road, Chesterton, near Bicester, the organisation described itself as the “leading provider of Auditory Verbal therapy in the UK”, aiming to ensure all deaf children have the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers.

She was involved in an appeal for the charity in 2018, when it was featured on television.

However, since then – and more than 20 years since it was set up – the charity has found it impossible to continue and announced its closure in a statement on its website.

Bicester-based charity Auditory Verbal stars in BBC One appeal with radio presenter Sara Cox. pictured is Kurran Doal, 15 (Image: AVUK)

Earlier this year, a spokesperson said: “Like many charities, AVUK has been operating in an increasingly challenging and turbulent environment for some time.

“Over recent months, despite strong progress pursing our strategy and continued delivery of high quality, life changing support, the financial pressures facing the charity have intensified to a point where it is no longer possible for us to operate sustainably. 

“We understand that the speed of this closure may come as a shock.

Bicester Mayor Les Sibley (right) with workers at Auditory Verbal UK launching Loud Shirt Day. Pic by Jon Lewis.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision, taken with the greatest care for the families, professionals and supporters who have placed their trust in AVUK over the years.”

In its latest company accounts the organisation listed 30 employees, all of whom will have lost their jobs.

READ MORE: Top UK charity’s £350k debts to National Lottery and Amazon

In addition it noted creditors falling within a year worth £433,557 although the company’s recently released ‘statement of affairs’ said its creditors were £349,309 in total.

The new documents also listed the businesses that Auditory Verbal owed money to.

Among the major names mentioned are Amazon (owed £476) and the National Lottery Community Fund (owed £2,062).

In addition Auditory Verbal was £83,426 in debt to the tax man HMRC and £12,815 in debt to Lloyds Bank.