Zoe Ball was left in tears as she presented her final BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Friday morning after six years at the helm.
The DJ, 54, began the programme in an upbeat mood, quoting adapted lines from Les Miserables’ One Day More by telling listeners: ‘Another day, another destiny, one final show from me, ZB… only joking I’m not going to sing, let’s have some Daft Punk.’
She then played the French electronic duo’s hit One More Time and read out a message from a listener who said he was driving home for Christmas early so he could listen to her last show.
Admitting she was in tears earlier that morning, she read out a message from Strictly and I’m A Celebrity star Oti Mabuse, saying after the song: ‘Thank you Oti for your gorgeous message this morning, that made me cry too.’
After reading out some ‘five-word weekends’ where listeners sum up their weekends in short form, Ball said one of her plans was: ‘Having a good old blub.’
She then played Peggy Gou’s (It Goes Like) Nanana and announced that Father Christmas would be appearing on the show after 8am ‘talking to the kids’.
Zoe Ball kicked off her final BBC Radio 2 breakfast show with Daft Punk’s One More Time after teasing that she might sing a song from a musical instead (pictured arriving at the show)
Ball admitted she was left in tears after reading the messages of support from her celeb pals
Ball also received a sweet message from Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
The message from the superstar read: ‘Hi Zoe, it’s Kylie. Thank you for an incredible six years. The nation loves you and I love you, and every time I’ve been in to see you, it’s been so much fun.
‘You’ve been part of some of the biggest and best memories I’ve had in the last six years.
‘In 2019 you spoke to me before my legends slot at Glastonbury, you were there for the disco era in 2020 and you were the first person anywhere in the world to play Padam Padam and kick start the “Padamic”.
‘We’ve danced around the studio, you, me and your fabulous prod squad, shout out to them, it has all happened with you Zoe.
‘You’re the best, we’re all going to miss you but ‘bye bye morning alarm, you were great for six years but no more’.
‘Zoe I wish you all the love, success and joy and everything you want moving on, we love you.’
David Tennant also called into the show, saying: ‘Hello Zoe, Dame Zoe Ball, David Tennant here in London. You’ve been so amazing over the last six years.
‘Oh my Lord, the country’s going to miss you, the best person to have breakfast with. Thank you for letting me come on to your show multiple times and annoy you.
‘Who can forget when you forced me to do a dramatic reading of Man! I Feel Like A Woman! into the very eyes of Shania Twain herself.
‘I certainly can’t forget it, indeed, neither can Shania. She loved it, she sent me a hat inspired by that moment.
‘Come on, let’s have three big karaoke belters for the final 7.33 (song feature), come on, Zoe. Love you Zoe Ball, bye.”
Ball replied: ‘Love you David Tennant, oh that’s so brilliant David, so much love to you and your family. Merry, merry Christmas to you all.’
The DJ, 54, began by quoting adapted lines from Les Miserables’ One Day More by telling listeners: ‘Another day, another destiny, one final show from me, ZB…’
From January, Scott Mills will take over the breakfast show (PA)
Oti Mabuse (left), Kylie Minogue and David Tennant were among the celebrity pals calling in and sending voice notes to congratulate Ball on her final show
Ball, the daughter of children’s TV presenter Johnny Ball, began presenting The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show ago in January 2019, taking over from radio presenter Chris Evans and becoming the first woman to present the show.
She announced her decision to leave in November, saying it was time for her to ‘step away from the very early mornings and focus on family’.
At the time, she also said she would not be ‘disappearing entirely’ and added: ‘I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the new year.’
From January, Scott Mills will take over the breakfast show and his previous weekday slot of 2pm to 4pm will be filled by Trevor Nelson.
In an official statement, Ball 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 has two children with ex-husband Norman Cook; Woody, 23, and Nelly, 14.
She will return to the airwaves to present two episodes of Zoe Ball’s Christmas Crooners, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Ball took a break from hosting her breakfast show over the summer and returned in September.
Ball recently revealed she has been battling a painful health condition most days which has left her with ‘awful’ headaches
She shared photos of herself before (left) and after getting a facial to relax the muscles
In November, after she revealed she would be leaving, she announced she had a temporomandibular joint disorder, which affects the movement of the jaw, according to the NHS.
Symptoms include jaw, neck and shoulder pain, headaches, limited jaw movement or locking, dizziness and vision problems.
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.
Uploading a photos of herself before and after getting a lymphatic drainage massage to relax the muscles, Zoe wrote: ‘I have TMJ and wake most days with awful headaches from tension & jaw clenching.
‘So grateful to Helen @thesculptresslondon for her magic. this is my face after i’ve seen her, check out my face before – yikes – picture 2. can’t recommend her enough. she also has the greatest playlists. thank you H and to @just.__.tiff for the intro.
‘#tmj #tensionheadache #lymphatic drainage massage #stress relief #facialmassage’.
Ball became a well known face after shooting to fame in the Nineties, presenting BBC One’s children’s show Live & Kicking as well as Top Of The Pop.
In 2019, she took over hosting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show but has now announced she wants to reduce her work commitments.
And it appears Ball won’t have to rush into anything as it appears she will be taking on a more behind the scenes roll and is widely expected to remain on a hefty – albeit reduced – salary.
As one of the corporation’s top earners, Ball is sacrificing a £950,000-a-year job by stepping down from her radio show
Ball has two children with ex-husband Norman Cook; Woody, 23, and Nelly, 14, and said the reason behind her departure is to focus on her family
Scott Mills, who currently hosts Radio 2’s weekday afternoon programme from 2 – 4pm, will being fronting the programme from early January
A source told The Daily Mail: ‘It all feels like smoke and mirrors.
‘Zoe is loved by the upper echelons and the job is demanding – five days getting up at the crack of dawn is hard.
‘But the truth is that she will be handed a plum new show for which she will be paid hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite her listening figures dropping massively.’
Several of BBC’s highest paid stars from 2024 have either stepped down or announced their imminent departure.
In what is a huge shake-up, top-earner Gary Lineker will step back from his £1.35million-a-year role as host of Match of the Day.
The footballer turned pundit, 63, has been the regular host of the show since 1999 but he will end his 25-year stint on the Saturday night programme at the end of this season.
According to reports, Gary was ‘open’ to staying and is even believed to have volunteered to take a £350,000-a-year pay cut from his £1.35million salary to stay as host of the flagship football show beyond next May.
But his new boss Alex Kay-Jelski, with whom he is not close, declined so he can freshen the corporation’s Saturday night football coverage while cutting the salary bill.
‘Lineker was open to staying on at Match of the Day, but the BBC did not offer him a new contract for the show’, the corporation’s culture and media editor Katie Razzall said.
While former Director General Greg Dyke believes that Lineker’s penchant for giving personal views, and the headache it has caused his bosses, will have been ‘in the mind’ of the BBC when they decided to go for a new host. ‘In the end, people watch Match Of The Day for the football’, he declared.
Praising her time on the airwaves, Woody, 23, said on Instagram: ‘Well done Mama on a fabulous stint on Radio 2!
As one of the corporation’s top earners, Ball is sacrificing a £950,000-a-year job by stepping down from her radio show (pictured 2024 top earners)
The huge BBC shake-up will also see top-earner Gary Lineker depart from his £1.35million-a-year role as host of Match of the Day
Meanwhile, disgraced Huw Edwards was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with its accounts putting him in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24
This morning the corporation revealed that Lineker has extended his TV contract until the end of the 2026 World Cup – but is stepping down from MotD as it ‘evolves for changing viewing habits’.
Meanwhile, disgraced Huw Edwards was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with its accounts putting him in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24.
The corporation knew the presenter, 62, had been arrested last November but continued to pay his salary until he resigned on medical advice this April.
In August it was reported the BBC asked Huw to hand back the £200,000 salary he earned after being arrested for having indecent images of children.