Cox faces 10 week test

Sara Cox has been warned she faces the axe from her prime-time Radio 1 show if more listeners do not tune in over the next ten weeks.

The disc jockey, who has been widely criticised for her bad language and smutty approach, met BBC executives after her Breakfast Show audience slumped to a record low.

Her flagship programme lost 433,000 listeners last month, leaving an audience of just 5.4million.

Officially, Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt is sticking by Miss Cox, 28.

However, her show has upset watchdogs with references to 'shagging' and an obscenity-strewn interview with comic Ali G.

There have also been complaints that she is incoherent, unfunny and talks too much about her husband, DJ Jon Carter.

The station is also suffering a shrinking audience, dropping below 10million last month for the first time. Changing demographics mean more listeners are abandoning it for Radio 2, which has become the UK's most popular radio station.

Miss Cox, who replaced her best friend Zoe Ball on the show three years ago, has until late October when new audience figures are released to win back her listeners.

She is on a £1million deal to work on the Breakfast Show until April and then elsewhere on Radio 1 for the following two years.

'Senior managers are working with production staff to identify what has gone wrong,' an industry insider said.

'They will be looking at every aspect of the show. Parfitt wants something done to arrest the decline. That may mean toning down her "ladette" style.

'She's professional but polarizes opinion. You either love or hate her.'

A BBC spokesman insisted Radio 1 will maintain its dual remit of playing new music while giving public service information to a wide audience.

ITV is dropping SM:TV when the series ends in December after ratings for the Saturday morning children's show fell from 2.5million to 1million.

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