THE BBC has issued a statement on Zoe Ball’s future after she vanished from her radio show.
The star last appeared on her own breakfast show on August 8 after a lengthy on air absence.
Zoe Ball, 53, usually takes to the airwaves every weekday morning from 6:30am on BBC Radio 2.
However, the star has not been on air for five weeks over the late summer period.
A host of star names have filled her spot including the likes of Morning Live star Gaby Roslin and former Radio 1 personality Scott Mills.
This led to intense speculation that the former Strictly come Dancing contestant might not return to the station at all.
Now the publicly funded corporation has made the unusual move to directly address her future, and it’s good news for fans.
A spokesperson for the station told The Express: “Zoe will return to the Radio 2 Breakfast Show later this month.”
Zoe was last on her breakfast show on August 8. She had returned just four days earlier from a previous lengthy absence.
Replacement host Scott, 51, addressed the situation on the show as listeners became increasingly concerned.
He told the audience: “If you’ve just put us on this morning, it’s Scott Mills in for Zoe for the next few weeks.
“I’m sending you all my love Zo’ as are the team.”
It also seems the star is due to take more time off as she will not return to the airwaves for at least another week.
One eagle-eared social media user took to X – formerly known as Twitter, as they shared a screenshot of the station’s website schedule.
They posted: “Scott is doing the breakfast show again next week in for Zoe. That’s now 5 weeks that he’s covered for her.”
Adding: “I feel an announcement is coming that Scott will have the breakfast show full time. Hope Zoe is ok,” alongside a red love heart emoji.
Zoe was born in Blackpool and is daughter of the children’s TV presenter Johnny Ball and his wife Julia.
She appeared on television at a young age as part of the studio audience of the Saturday morning children’s show, Saturday Superstore when her father was a guest.
The star began her career in broadcasting as a presenter on the pre-school programme Playdays.
After various behind the scenes roles, she earned a spot as a regular host of Top of the Pops, when she alternated with the likes of Jayne Middlemiss and Jo Whiley.
In 1996, she was chosen to front BBC One‘s saturday morning show Live & Kicking, which led to stints on The Big Breakfast on Channel 4.
But she maintained a huge presence on the radio as she was chosen to be the co-host of BBC Radio 1 Breakfast alongside Kevin Greening in October 1997.
Zoe was later appointed the sole host of the show in a groundbreaking move by the corporation as she was the first female DJ to hold the post.
The presenter chose to leave the station in March 2000 to start a family, where she was succeeded by Sara Cox.
As a mainstream face in TV through the noughties, she hosted a range of huge programmes for ITV, including the Brit Awards in 2002, Extinct in 2006, and both Soapstar Superstar and Grease Is The Word in 2007.
In mid-2002, she returned to radio when she joined Xfm (later known as Radio X), when she was the voice of the weekday drivetime show until December 2003. In 2004, she stood in for Ricky Gervais while he filmed the second series of The Office.
In October 2005, she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing, where she was partnered with Ian Waite, The star impressed viewers with her footwork and the duo waltzed into third place.
In 2011, she returned to the franchise as she took over as the host of the magazine spin-off show, It Takes Two.
She also filled in for Claudia Winkleman on the main show in 2014, when The Traitors star took leave after her daughter suffered serious burn injuries.
After 10 years fronting the show, Zoe announced she was quitting her role on BBC Two in May 2021.
Zoe’s journey in BBC Radio 2 started in 2006 when she fronted specialist documentaries. Over the years she sat in for names such as Dermot O’Leary, Ken Bruce and Chris Evans.
After several shake-ups, she returned to the station on a permanent basis when she took over Dermot’s Saturday afternoon slot between 3pm and 6pm.
In October 2018, Chris Evans moved to Virgin Radio and he personally announced that Zoe would take over his popular slot. She started presenting the breakfast show on 14 January 2019.
Although no official reason was given for her absence, Zoe has faced a devastating year.
Her mother previously passed away in April after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
She bravely returned to the channel in May following her mum’s death, before she was later ‘taken off air.”
The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show is available to listen to every weekday on BBC Radio 2 from 6:30am.
