By Bethany Gavaghan Zoe Delaney Zoe Delany
BBC Radio 2’s Vernon Kay was notably absent from the start of his show on Tuesday, July 1, finding himself “trapped” on a malfunctioning train. The broadcaster, aged 51, was due to begin his programme at 9.30am but encountered travel woes when his train ground to a halt. Sara Cox, who had been hosting Scott Mills’ breakfast slot, extended her airtime to fill in for Kay, reports the Mirror . On Instagram, Kay updated his followers with the news that the “train isn’t training! !” and requested Cox to “hang fire”. Cox, hailing from the same hometown of Bolton as Kay, informed BBC Radio 2 listeners: “Oh no, I’ve just realised I’m not gonna be in time for reformer Pilates.” She joked with the audience, saying: “If you just joined in and you’re thinking Vernon is sounding a little extra-manly today, don’t worry. It’s me: Sara, from the same area obviously, though famously.” For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter Describing Kay’s predicament, she added, “Vernon, poor Vernon stuck on a hot, sweaty train with no coffee, no air-con, no deodorant. So he’s going to get in at some point, hopefully.” Listeners were assured by Cox that Gary Davies would step in at 10am. Upon taking the reins, Davies explained: “If you just tuned in and were wondering were Vernon is, he was on his train like usual and the train broke down and so he has been in sweltering hot heat and they had to send a rescue train which also broke down.” Kay himself kept his Instagram audience in the loop about his increasingly warm commute, posting a picture looking rather uncomfortable and captioning it with a plea for assistance: “The train isn’t training,” and “Hang fire @djsaracox @bbcradio2. “Send deodorant and coffee.” Later on, Kay’s journey took a turn for the better as the train’s air conditioning was restored. “Aircon is back on! ! !” he shared with his followers, alongside a photo where he appeared somewhat more cheerful. With a heatwave hitting parts of England, London’s temperatures are set to soar to 34C on Tuesday, as forecasted by the Met Office. On the radio, Davis played two voice messages from Kay in which he expressed gratitude to the presenter for filling in and referred to him as a “gentleman”. Kay also conveyed: “We are trapped on the train. We are still not in good spirits but we are trying Gary, we really are trying. All the best.” Ken Bruce, who formerly presented on BBC Radio 2, seemed to encounter a similar predicament when his train broke down on Tuesday. Bruce took to social media platform X to inform his audience about the delay, apologising for being late to his show on Greatest Hits Radio due to the train malfunction. In 2023, Kay stepped into Ken Bruce’s shoes to host the mid-morning weekday programme on BBC Radio 2.