BBC radio DJ Sara Cox has revealed the close bond she shares with a Ukranian refugee and her newborn baby that she lives with – even attending the youngster’s birth.
The author and broadcaster opened her doors to the woman, who was six months pregnant at the time, following the war between Russia and Ukraine which has seen hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian people displaced from their homes.
Sara said the woman was ‘part of the family now’, even recently attending the birth of her baby.
In a new interview, she explained how the front room of her house had been newly decorated and ‘reborn’ after her houseguest departed.
‘The front room was in flux for a few years,’ the mum-of-three told The Times.
‘We had a Ukrainian guest sleeping in there for six months. She had a baby recently. She’s part of the family now.
‘I was at the birth and she came back here with her newborn, so this room has been very much a private area for this mum and baby. When she left it needed to be rebirthed itself and begin its story again.’
Several stars opened their doors to Ukrainian people since Russia invaded the country in 2022, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Rod Stewart, Rachel Riley, and Chris Tarrant.
Doctor Who star Benedict revealed in April last year that he was waiting to home a Ukrainian family, telling Sky News: ‘They’ve made it out of Ukraine, I’m monitoring their progress every day.
‘Sadly, they are undergoing some medical treatment – to say anything more about that would be an invasion of their privacy and too much about when they’re coming and how that’s being managed would invade mine – but I want to give them some stability after the turmoil that they’ve experienced, and that’s within my home.’
Sir Rod rented a Berkshire home for a family of seven who fled the conflict, saying they were ‘lovely’ and ‘so grateful.’
The singer also hired trucks filled with supplies for refugees and had them driven to Ukraine, before transporting 16 people to Berlin.
Countdown star Rachel previously opened up on her experience hosting Ukrainian refugees, telling The Standard it is ‘so rewarding’ and that they are like ‘one big family’ together.
Former Who Wants to be a Millionnaire? host Chris said housing a Ukrainian family ‘enhanced’ his home life.
‘They’ve been with us since the beginning of the war,’ he said during an interview on Good Morning Britain. ‘They were sleeping on the floor of airports in Poland before they came to us. The actual exit from Ukraine is just a horror story.’
He continued: ‘They have enhanced my life, these people. I mean I know I’ve had my own kids but this baby is so sweet.
‘She was seven months, now if she had stayed she’d be on the front of a tank or something. I mean the idea of what happened and how they got away is just extraordinary.’