Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the
Radio 1 and
Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after
Gary Lineker.
In 2018, Ball was announced as the new host of ''
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show
''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' (also known as ''The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show'') refers to a range of programming on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2 since the station's inception on 30 September 1967. The show's longest serving host to date wa ...
'' and took over from
Chris Evans in January 2019, before stepping down from the programme in December 2024.
Ball presented the children's show ''
Live & Kicking'', alongside
Jamie Theakston
James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...
, from 1996 to 1999. In 2005, she was a contestant in the
third series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
''. Following this, in 2011 she replaced
Claudia Winkleman as host of the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
spin-off show ''
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' until her departure in 2021. Ball also hosted the ''
Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour'' in 2011 and 2015.
Early life and education
Zoe Louise Ball was born on 23 November 1970
in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. She is the daughter of the children's TV presenter
Johnny Ball and his wife Julia (née Anderson). The couple divorced when Ball was two and she was raised with her father.
Ball was educated at Heston Junior School in the district of
Hounslow
Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...
between 1975 and 1978. Her family then moved to
Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire. She attended Farnham Common First School and Farnham Common Middle School, before moving to
Holy Cross Convent School in
Chalfont St Peter and
Amersham
Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
There ar ...
College of Art and Technology for a "
City & Guilds in radio and journalism".
Ball also attended the Young Theatre at
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe.
The ...
where she trained as an actress. Her first TV appearance was as a child in the studio audience of the Saturday morning children's show, ''
Saturday Superstore'', on which her father was appearing as a guest.
Career
Television
Ball began her television career as a presenter on the pre-school programme ''
Playdays''.
Ball became a runner at
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
and researcher for ''Cool Cube'' (1990–1994), a children's Saturday afternoon magazine show, produced at Granada's studio in Manchester, by Clear Idea Television, and broadcast on the
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
channel ''Galaxy''.
From 1994–1996, Ball presented ''
SMart'' with
Mark Speight and
Jay Burridge. In 1995, Ball hosted ''
Fully Booked'' for the first series. In 1997 and 1998, she was a regular presenter on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'',
usually alternating with fellow presenters and DJs
Jayne Middlemiss and
Jo Whiley.
In 1996, Ball was a co-host with
Jamie Theakston
James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...
in
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
's Saturday morning children's program ''
Live & Kicking''.
In 1998, television personality
Chris Evans was a guest of the show,
and later employed both Ball and Theakston to co-host the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
Wednesday night chat/music show ''The Priory'', under
Ginger Productions.
Ball’s presenting jobs have also included hosting ''
The Big Breakfast'' on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
,
Ball co-hosted the 2002
Brit Awards with
Frank Skinner
Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
, In 2005, she co-hosted the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
reality show ''
Strictly Dance Fever''. In 2006, Ball co-hosted the
ITV programme ''
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
'', alongside
Trevor McDonald.
In January 2007, Ball presented the second series of ITV's ''
Soapstar Superstar'',
taking over from
Fern Britton and
Ben Shephard, who hosted the first series. In March 2007, she hosted the
ITV talent search ''
Grease Is the Word''.
Alongside
Jamie Theakston
James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...
, Ball presented
Channel 5's quiz series ''
Britain's Best Brain
''Britain's Best Brain'' is a British game show that aired on 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5 from 28 October to 16 December 2009 and hosted by Jamie Theakston and Zoe Ball. It saw ordinary members of the public undertake various tasks, all s ...
'' in 2009.
Ball has guest presented several episodes of ''
The One Show'' as a stand-in for
Alex Jones
Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...
.
On 4 August 2013, as hostess of a special entitled ''
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor'', she revealed
Peter Capaldi as the incoming
Twelfth Doctor and hosted his first interview in that capacity.
In November 2013, Ball co-hosted the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
Children in Need
''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
telethon, alongside Sir
Terry Wogan,
Fearne Cotton,
Nick Grimshaw and
Tess Daly. In 2014, Ball presented a
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
spin-off from ''
The Voice UK'' called ''
The Voice: Louder on Two''.
The show aired for one series of ten episodes.
In 2015, Ball hosted ''
EastEnders: Backstage Live'', a spin-off show during the ''EastEnders'' live week. She co-presented the ''
BBC Young Dancer'' competition with
Darcey Bussell on BBC Two.
Ball also narrated two ITV specials, ''
The Nation's Favourite '70s Number One'' and ''
The Nation's Favourite '80s Number One'', as well as the BBC One series ''
Don't Tell the Bride''. In 2016, Ball co-presented ''
Can't Touch This'', a Saturday night game show for BBC One, alongside
Ashley Banjo.
Ball narrated ''
The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song'', and guest-presented an episode of ''
Film 2016''.
In 2017, Ball co-presented ''
The Big Family Cooking Showdown'' with
Nadiya Hussain on BBC Two.
Since 2020, Ball has appeared alongside her son Woody Fred Cook on ''
Celebrity Gogglebox''.
In 2021, Ball appeared on ''
The Masked Dancer'', masked as Llama. She was the sixth celebrity to be unmasked.
In 2023, Ball appeared as herself in Episode 1 of the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
comedy ''
Queen of Oz''. Ball is seen and heard on her radio programme questioning the outrageous antics of spoiled spare to the British crown, Princess Georgiana, played by
Catherine Tate.
In 2024, Ball appeared as a panellist on the "New Year's Treat" episode of ''
Taskmaster'' for that year.
''Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''It Takes Two''
In October 2005, Ball became a contestant on the
third series of the BBC One talent show ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
'', where she was partnered by
Ian Waite. Ball and Waite were ranked in third place;
they also scored 38/40 (including two tens) for three dances in the series and one in the Christmas special.
In 2011, Ball took over from
Claudia Winkleman as the host of ''Strictly Come Dancing''s sister show ''
It Takes Two'', airing every weeknight on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
; in 2014, whilst Winkleman was on leave after her daughter suffered serious burn injuries, Ball co-hosted the main show.
On 17 May 2021, Ball announced she was leaving her role as presenter after 10 years.
Radio
Although known primarily for her TV work, Ball first worked in radio, after she became co-host of ''
Radio 1 Breakfast'' on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
in October 1997 with
Kevin Greening.
She became the sole host, the first female DJ to do so. At this time, her hard-drinking, hard-partying lifestyle contributed to the identification of the so-called "
ladette culture" of the late 1990s. She was twice warned by the BBC for swearing on the radio.
Ball left
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
in March 2000. Her final show was on 10 March 2000; she was succeeded by
Sara Cox.
Ball returned to radio in mid-2002 when she joined London radio station
Xfm, where she presented the weekday drivetime show until December 2003. In January 2004, she took over a Friday evening music show for the station. She also stood in for
Ricky Gervais while he filmed the second series of ''
The Office''.
She left Xfm at the end of 2004.
In September 2007, she returned to BBC Radio and co-hosted a show with
Sara Cox, celebrating 40 years of
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
and
BBC Radio 2.
From 2006, she provided relief presenting duties for
BBC Radio 2, fronted specialist documentaries, sat in for
Dermot O'Leary for three weeks in February 2006, and co-presented (with
Danny Baker) the hastily conceived replacement for
Jonathan Ross' Saturday morning show, in the wake of Ross's suspension due to
Sachsgate in 2008.
In 2009, Ball became the usual relief presenter for
Ken Bruce's weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2. She also began hosting the Saturday breakfast show from 6 am to 8 am on the network from 6 June 2009 as part of a shake-up of weekend programming at Radio 2.
Ball left Radio 2 for a while as her last show was broadcast on Saturday 28 January 2012. Her replacement in that slot was
Anneka Rice.
Ball covered ''
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show
''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' (also known as ''The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show'') refers to a range of programming on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2 since the station's inception on 30 September 1967. The show's longest serving host to date wa ...
'' for
Chris Evans on several occasions.
From 4 March 2017 to 22 December 2018, Ball returned to Radio 2 on permanent basis where she presented the Saturday afternoon slot on BBC Radio 2 between 3 pm and 6 pm, taking over from
Dermot O'Leary.
On 3 October 2018, she was announced by Chris Evans as the new host of ''
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show
''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' (also known as ''The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show'') refers to a range of programming on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2 since the station's inception on 30 September 1967. The show's longest serving host to date wa ...
'', which began on 14 January 2019.
Rylan Clark replaced Ball in the Saturday mid-afternoon slot.
In August 2024, the BBC confirmed Ball was the second-highest paid BBC presenter after
Gary Lineker, with a salary of £950,000, having exceeded that figure for the previous three years.
[BBC pay 2023-2024: The full list of star salaries](_blank)
''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, ''23 July 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2025
On 23 September 2024, Ball announced she was returning to Radio 2, six weeks after announcing a break from the show. On 19 November she announced on the show that she would stop being the presenter of ''The Breakfast Show'' from 20 December, but would remain working for the station.
On 3 May 2025, Ball's show replaced ''
Pick of the Pops'', which had held the 1 pm to 3 pm slot for 16 years; ''Pick of the Pops'' moved to Sundays from 5 pm to 7pm.
Personal life
Whilst at
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
, Ball began a relationship with the DJ and musician Norman Cook, known as
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
.
The couple married at
Babington House in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
in August 1999. In 2003, Ball and Cook separated when Ball revealed that she had an affair; they later reconciled. The couple have a son, Woody Fred Cook (born 2000), and a daughter, Nelly (born 2010). On 24 September 2016, Cook and Ball announced their separation after 18 years together.
Between 2017 and 2023, Ball was in a relationship with fashion model and carpenter Michael Reed.
Charity work
In 2014, she supported
Marks & Spencer and
Oxfam's "Love Mum" campaign.
In March 2018, Ball took part in the 'Hardest Ride Home' challenge in which she cycled from Blackpool to Brighton to raise money for
Sport Relief
''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...
and mental health awareness. She set off on 5 March for five days.
Highlights of the challenge were broadcast in a one-off documentary, airing on 21 March 2018 on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. She raised £1,198,012.
Filmography
Radio
Television
References
External links
*
''Zoe Ball''(BBC Radio 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Zoe
1970 births
Living people
BBC Radio 1 presenters
BBC Radio 2 presenters
English children's television presenters
English radio DJs
Television personalities from Lancashire
People from Blackpool
People from Beaconsfield
Comic Relief people