BBC Radio 2‘s Zoe Ball left fans stunned with her Tuesday announcement that she’s stepping down from the Breakfast Show after a six-year stint. The real reason behind her departure has now been ‘unveiled’.
At 53, Zoe expressed her deep appreciation for the outpouring of support post-announcement, stating she is “really touched” by the kind messages and well-wishes she received as she prepares to leave her role as host.
Zoe plans to exit the show next month, citing the desire to “focus on family” as her primary motive, while also sharing her excitement for Scott Mills, who is set to take over the early morning broadcast.
Having taken over from Chris Evans in 2019, Zoe is ready to say goodbye to the early starts, emphasizing her need to “step away from the very early mornings and focus on family”. Her last show is scheduled for December 20, with Mills, currently in the afternoon slot, gearing up to assume the morning mantle in January.
On Instagram, Zoe showed her gratitude: “Really touched, thanks for the messages, thrilled for my mates Scott, Trevor, Spoony and Sophie”, reports the Mirror.
Rylan Clark, a TV favourite, praised Zoe for being “being the best wake-up for the past six years” and celebrated Mills’ new role on his Instagram stories: “Scott, I’ve never been more happy for someone. If you grazed your knee you would bleed radio. I know how much this means to you and I’m so so proud of you”.
Zoe Ball was all smiles as she posed with Mills outside New Broadcasting House, expressing her delight to the press about her colleague’s success. “It has all turned out nicely,” she remarked happily.
“I’m really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it.”
During her Tuesday radio show, Zoe touched the hearts of her listeners when she said, “You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we? “.
“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”
Despite her affection for her role, Zoe couldn’t help but comment on the early mornings: “But I won’t miss the 4am alarm call, if I’m completely honest.”
The surprise news of Zoe’s exit from BBC Radio 2 follows an unexplained six-week break earlier this year. Concerns were mounting among listeners over the absence of the beloved radio host, but Zoe eventually returned to the airwaves with a cheery ‘I’m back!’.
At that time, she expressed her joy at returning, telling her Radio 2 audience she was no longer a ‘wanderer’. Yet, sources now suggest that Zoe was concealing the discontent that had led to her extended time off.
Insiders have suggested that Zoe’s decision to step down from her role on Radio 2 is due to her wanting to spend more time with her children, Woody, 23, and Nellie, 14, especially after the loss of her dear mother earlier this year.
“She simply wants to live differently, which means having more of a family life,” an insider revealed to Mail Online, following Zoe’s own admission of being tired of the early morning wake-up calls after six years on the show.
The passing of her beloved mother Julia earlier this year is said to be the trigger for Zoe’s shift in perspective on balancing work and personal life.
Regarding her decision to finally leave BBC Radio 2 after six years, a source stated: “In the end, this was completely her decision. She came to them [the BBC] in September after she had had a break to think about her life and said: ‘I’m done.’ The BBC… wanted a bit of time to put everything in place, which they were able to do. They looked at who might do it… I think they only seriously considered Vernon Kay and Scott Mills.”