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AFTER nearly two decades of filling Saturday lunchtimes with her wit and warm charm, Zoe Ball is stepping away from her BBC Radio 2 show.
The beloved presenter will air her final programme on December 20, bringing an end to a chapter that has made her a fixture of British radio.
Her announcement comes after she was included in the BBC’s “Golden Ten” shortlist of presenters tested for the perfect on-screen partnership to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
The Sun revealed that Zoe Ball was one of the ten stars put through their paces in order to find the perfect on screen partnership in a top-secret chemistry test.
The news has sparked excitement that Ball could be in the running to replace Tess and Claudia as Strictly Come Dancing host.
Earlier this series, the duo dropped a bombshell, revealing they would be stepping away from the beloved BBC dance show for the final time.
Bookies have now suspended betting on who the replacements could be following Ball’s announcement.
Amid all these changes, there have also been personal developments in her life.
Zoe revealed she has a mystery “lodger” who, she joked, has “won more awards” than her.
The Radio 2 presenter dropped the hint on her “Dig It” podcast, confessing that her multimillion-pound pad now has a very special new resident.
While Zoe has hinted at a mystery man, the status of their relationship remains unclear.
Her last public romance was with construction worker Michael Reed, which ended in 2023.
Zoe was married to DJ Norman Cook (better known as Fatboy Slim) for 18 years, before splitting in 2016.
The couple, who co-parent their children Woody and Nelly, have stayed close since their split, with Norman even calling Zoe his “soulmate.”
It comes after Zoe quit the Radio 2 breakfast show at the end of 2024 following the heartbreaking loss of her mum, Julia Peckham, to cancer in April last year.
She left the coveted slot she’d held for six years to “focus on family,” and took a four-and-a-half month break from the radio following her mother’s death.
At the time, Zoe shared a touching tribute to her late mum on social media, saying: “Sleep tight dear Mama.
“Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy, and how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts.”
Opening up about her grief, Zoe revealed she found the first birthday of her mum, Julia, since her death especially hard.
She said: “It’s a year and a bit since we lost mum, and I found her birthday this year, the toughest, the toughest, you know, a whole year later.
“That was brutal. It was a week of absolute weeping, I still get quite emotional sort of talking about mum, even now.”
Speaking on her podcast, Zoe choked back tears as she admitted suffering an “emotional breakdown” during a this “brutal” period of her life last year.
The presenter bravely told how she was left unable to move on the kitchen floor after being struck down with grief following her mum’s passing.
It’s been a chaotic time for Zoe and her family with her dad, TV legend Johnny Ball, revealing earlier this year he had been secretly fighting prostate cancer.
The 87-year-old broadcaster endured three brutal months of daily radiation treatment back in 2022, but is now “through it” and feeling”fine”.
She has admitted she occasionally questions whether leaving her flagship BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show was the right move, after stepping down to spend more time with her teenage daughter.
This year brought another blow when a yob smashed Zoe’s car window and stole her handbag while she was appearing on The One Show.
“Someone had smashed the front window of my car, that’s never happened to me before,” she revealed.
Initially frozen from the shock of the attack, she said: “I got in and I had a massive cry.”
Despite leaving her regular radio show, she promises fans she isn’t disappearing completely, with special broadcasts lined up over the festive season and into the new year.
The 55-year-old broadcasting favourite is set to be replaced by presenter Emma Willis.
She said: “I have loved being betwixt my dear friends Romesh (Ranganathan) and Rylan (Clark), and you know, I love you all to bits, but I’m not disappearing completely.
“Obviously, it’ll be Christmas Crooners and I’m doing an eras show in the new year, more on that later.
“But I am thrilled to tell you that you will be in the safest of hands, because there is a superwoman who is no stranger to you all, but this does mean that she will officially become a member of the Radio 2 family.“
The adored host first took to the air as co-host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show nearly thirty years ago, before becoming the first female DJ to host the primetime slot solo.
Zoe was the BBC’s second-highest paid presenter while she was hosting the coveted morning slot, pocketing £950,000 between April 2023 and 2024, just behind Gary Lineker.
Zoe had been one of the contenders to replace the much-loved pair on Strictly, amongst others including Alan Carr and Rylan Clark.
After quitting her radio show, the mum-of-two is now pipping the rest at the top.
Emma Willis, who is due to replace Ball on her Radio 2 show from next weekend, said:
Willis said: “I’m a huge fan of Radio 2, so I’m absolutely chuffed to be joining the family, and it’s a real honour to follow in the huge footsteps Zoe leaves behind, who’s someone I admire and adore.
“I’m very much looking forward to spending my Saturday lunchtimes with the Radio 2 audience and I’ll happily be the filling to a Romesh and Rylan sandwich!”
