Sara Cox didn't want to present the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show because she can't "mop up [her] kid's tears with a wad of fifties."
Sara Cox
The 44-year-old broadcaster - who has Lola, 14, with ex-husband Jon Carter and Isaac, 10, and Renee, eight, with spouse Ben Cyzer - used to enjoy covering the morning slot for Chris Evans, but she's not planning to be on stand-by for new presenter Zoe Ball because the early starts took their toll on her moods and left her being "horrible" to her brood in the afternoons because she was so tired.
Speaking on 'This Morning', she said: "I loved standing in for Chris when he was on, I'm not gonna stand in for Zoe [Ball] because I want time with my kids this half term and that's not happened for a few years now.
"I'm not gonna be standing in, what it is when I used to swan in and cover for Chris Evans it was really easy cos I was on there for like two weeks.
"You were saying before you've done standing in for breakfast radio and it is quite tiring and by three or four I was kind of horrible to my kids by that time.
"So you know breakfast is a great gig, it's an amazing show to do, it's great money but I can't mop my kid's tears with a wad of fifties."
Sara was heavily tipped to be named as Chris' successor when he announced he was leaving - with even Zoe expecting her to get the job, but the former model insisted she never expected to be offered the prestigious show.
She said: "It was a really weird time, so I filled in for breakfast and I got on the show in the morning that Chris Evans said he was leaving, I got out and my phone melted on my bed.
"Loads of texts like 'What's going on' and I'm like 'No, no clue' and one of the first texts was from Zoe saying 'You've got this'.
"I replied to her and all my family and friends and I said 'Look the ancient Chinese proverb says, the stand-in never gets the gig' cos it just doesn't happen in radio so I never thought I was gonna get breakfast. "
Tagged in Chris Evans Zoe Ball Sara Cox