Zoe Ball today announced she is quitting her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show to ‘focus on family’ – handing over to her ‘bestie’ Scott Mills.
The 53-year-old revealed on air this morning that she will be leaving the show in December after six years but remaining on the station. She had taken a break from hosting over the summer – with Mills stepping in as her replacement – before returning in September.
Ball will host her last slot on December 20 before Mills, who currently hosts Radio 2’s weekday afternoon programme from 2 – 4pm, begins fronting the programme from early January.
Ball said she is ‘really chuffed for my mate’ as she and Mills posed for photographs outside New Broadcasting House.
She announced on Tuesday morning that she will be leaving her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show in December.
She told reporters she is ‘so proud’ of Mills, 51, adding: ‘It has all turned out nicely. I’m really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it.’
Zoe Ball leaving Wogan House alongside Scott Mills as he was announced as her replacement
The pair were seen embracing each other in the courtyard outside the BBC’s headquarters
Zoe Ball today announced she is stepping down as presenter of the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show
Announcing the news to listeners earlier this morning, she said: ‘After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.’
The veteran presenter said she was ‘thrilled’ to reveal her good friend Mill, as her replacement, telling listeners: ‘Scott and I go way back to our Radio 1 days, when he was doing early mornings before me. He’s been a close friend for years, and I’m beyond thrilled it’s him taking over the Breakfast Show.
‘Breakfast has always been his dream, and what a year he’s had – from racing around the world to his beautiful wedding to Sam. He’s not only a blooming brilliant producer but one of the best in radio. I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!’.
Reaction to the announcement on social media has been mixed, with one listener branding him ‘such a terrible replacement’ while another called this morning’s announcement ‘horrific news’.
Others have vowed to switch off as a result, with one saying it was ‘time to find another station’.
Yet others have been more favourable, with responses including ‘fantastic news’ and offering ‘huge congratulations’ while describing him as ‘equally talented’ to Zoe.
Mills joined his friend on her show this morning and said he was ‘beyond excited’ to become host.
He said: ‘Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1. She’s done an incredible job on this show over the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.
‘It feels ever since recording my first shows as a kid for an audience of one, my mum, all roads since have led to this amazing opportunity. It really is a lifelong dream come true to follow in the footsteps of Sir Terry, Chris and Zoe to be the new presenter of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.’
Ball was the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female presenter in 2023/24 with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999, ranking her second on the list of top-earning talent behind Gary Lineker, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.
Lineker revealed he had been axed from Match of the Day earlier this month, in the latest of a string of high profile BBC exits.
Ball was the first female host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1998, a post she held until 2000, and she also co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.
Ball told listeners this morning: ‘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.’
She added: ‘But I won’t miss the 4am alarm call, if I’m completely honest.’
Ball took a break from hosting her show over the summer before returning in September. She is pictured on November 12
Ball collecting money for Children in Need at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow on November 15
Mills and Ball with Pudsey for a DIY SOS Children in Need special in November 2022
Ball said she was ‘thrilled’ to reveal Scott Mills, 51, as her replacement
Zoe had taken a break from hosting over the summer before returning in September. This is the social media post announcing her return
Ball has endured a difficult year, including losing her mother Julia Peckham to pancreatic cancer back in April
In an official statement, she said: ‘After six incredible years on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it’s time for me to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family. It’s been a privilege.
‘I think the world of you listeners and I’m grateful to my bosses here for their support, especially this year.’
Ball said her last show will be on December 20, adding: ‘Just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans.
‘While I’m stepping away from the Breakfast Show, I’m not disappearing entirely – I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the New Year.
‘I’m excited to embrace my next chapter, including being a mum in the mornings, and I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!’
The presenter’s decision to step away from the show comes after she sparked concern with a mysterious six-week absence from the airwaves.
In September, she returned to air with business as usual as she offered her fans a lively welcome back and asked listeners ‘what have I missed?’
Spreading positivity on first show back, Zoe paid tribute to both Jamie Theakston and Lauren Laverne following their struggles with cancer.
The star ‘sent on the love she has received’ to the pair as she wished them well during their treatment.
She told listeners: ‘I must say while we are sending some love, our breakfast friend Laura Laverne our mate at six music is currently going through some cancer treatment.
‘She is doing OK but just wanted to send my love out to her.’
Ball also paid tribute to her old colleague Theakston, adding: ‘And my dear live and kicking Priory mate, Jamie Theakston who is also having some treatment for cancer at the moment.
‘He is going to be OK and he is doing well.
‘Sending so much love to them. So a lot of the love I got to me I am sending back to them.’
Ball recently split from her long term partner Michael Reed, 53
Ball was previously married to DJ Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook from 1999 to 2016, and they share two children together. This picture was taken in 1999
Following the split she began dating cameraman and technician Billy Yates, who tragically took his own life in May 2017 after a long battle with depression
Theakston revealed last week that he is currently undergoing treatment for stage 1 laryngeal cancer.
Meanwhile, Laverne told fans last month that she was recovering from the illness after it was picked up ‘unexpectedly’ during a screening test.
Ball has had her own personal experience with cancer this year after her mum Julia Peckham died of pancreatic cancer back in April.
The star was told to ‘take all the time she needs’ following the death of her beloved mother, but she returned to work on May 13.
It was the latest in a series of personal blows that the presenter has had to endure.
Her five-and-a-half year relationship with Michael Reed recently broke down, and seven years ago her partner Billy Yates took his own life in May 2017.
Mr Yates’s death came after the breakdown of Ms Ball’s 18-year marriage to DJ Fatboy Slim, real name Normal Cook.
Reaction to the news on social media has been mixed, with one listener branding him ‘such a terrible replacement’ while another called this morning’s announcement ‘horrific news’
In addition to presenting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Ball hosted BBC spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, and ITV’s reality competition show Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream.
Trevor Nelson will take over BBC Radio 2’s weekday afternoon slot from 2pm to 4pm after Scott Mills departs to take over the station’s Breakfast Show.
In a statement, he said it is the ‘ultimate privilege as a broadcaster to entertain the nation on the biggest station in the UK every day’.
He added: ‘I’m looking to have lots of fun and will be bringing a bit of soul to the new show.’
His Rhythm Nation show, which he hosts Monday to Thursday from 10pm to midnight, will be replaced by DJ Spoony’s The Good Grove, which he currently hosts on Friday nights from 9pm to 11pm.
Meanwhile, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco will be extended from one to two hours with the pop star set to bring her party to Friday nights from 9pm to 11pm.
She said: ‘I can’t wait to bring my Kitchen Disco to Friday nights on Radio 2, when we will wave goodbye to the past week and bring on the weekend together in true disco style.’
Mills won Celebrity Race Across the World with his husband Sam Vaughan in September. Ball was invited to their wedding
Mills with Mel C and Ball after completing his Great Scott TreadMills Challenge to raise money Children In Need in November 2022
Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said of Ball’s decision to step down: ‘Zoe has woken up the nation on Radio 2 with incredible warmth, wit and so much joy since January 2019, and I’d like to thank her for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first.
‘I’m thrilled that she’ll remain an important part of the Radio 2 family.’