THE future of Radio 1 DJ Sara Cox may appear uncertain according to some national newspaper reports, after the station's figures dropped.

But Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt says he is sticking by the 28-year-old.

A spokesman who issued a statement on the controller's behalf said: "No ultimatum has been issued. Sara Cox will remain as the presenter of the Breakfast Show and Mr Parfitt is backing her.

"She is contracted with us until at least April and it is very likely that she will continue after that."

Some sources suggest there is disquiet within the station over her listening figures which fell by 433,000 last month to 5.4 million.

There has been criticism too that Sara, who took over the Breakfast Show from her best friend Zoe Ball three years ago, has used inappropriate language.

This week Mr Blobby creator Noel Edmonds called her "coarse and unpleasant" in a Radio Times interview.

In response, Sara joked on her show that he may have been upset because she refused to go on Noel's House Party in the late 1990s.

She added that she felt Noel's criticisms were unfair.

Over the past three years, Sara has been slammed for a variety of outbursts, which included making comments about the Queen Mother and carrying out an interview with Ali G peppered with swear words.

But she has also used the show to publicise the merits of Bolton, popping up North twice -- to host Radio 1's One Big Sunday in Moss Bank Park, and the On The Road weekend at the town's Life Bar Cafe.

Along with Peter Kay, she is the town's most high-profile media figure, and there are many who believe the slurs against her are due to her being a successful Northerner on a high-profile £1 million deal.

Radio 1 as a whole is suffering from a decline in listeners.

The station's audience has shrunk below 10 million for the first time.

Many listeners are moving over to Radio 2 -- now Britain's most popular radio station.

New listening figures are due out in October and it is whispered that it will be make-or-break time for Sara.

An insider said: "The show is being pulled apart and put together again because managers are trying to find a solution.

"Sara is a great professional but she has to pull out the stops now."