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BBC broadcaster turned author Sara Cox has paid a touching tribute to farmers and has dedicated her new novel to them, ‘because they work so hard'.

The DJ who hosts the daily drive-time slot on Radio 2, spoke about her admiration for the profession on BBC1 magazine programme the , and told presenters Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas: "I have dedicated the book to British farmers because they work so hard."

The novel, Way Back, is the second from the presenter of popular book programme , and centres on Josie, the daughter of a Lancashire farmer who finds herself falling out of love with both her suburban London life and her husband.

"She [Josie] is just feeling a little bit rudderless and she realises she has to go back to the village where she was raised and the farm where she was born to make sense of where she is in her life now," Ms Cox told viewers.

While the book delves into several female relationships, Ms Cox also revealed it did feature ‘a hot farmer'.

Ms Cox, who herself grew up on Grundy Fold Farm a 40-acre tenanted cattle farm in Little Lever, near Bolton, shared her experiences of her childhood in her memoir Till the Cows Come Home.

Read more: Throwback photo shows DJ Sara Cox in the showring in 2005

She revealed for her new book, she had showed several drafts to her mum, but that her dad was still to see a copy.

"Because he is a farmer, he is too busy to read," she said. "I told him what it was about and he said he would read it at some point. But I do get help from my dad and my big brother about farming details."

She also checked the finer details of animal health with fellow BBC Morning Live presenter vet James Greenwood.

"There is one bit where a pig goes into labour and although my dad had pigs in the 1970s, I did get on the blower to James to check whether things were correct or realistic. There are lots of things I can remember - such as cattle auctions - but for some things I needed to check."