Zoe Ball has been pictured for the first time since her unexpected absence from BBC Radio 2.
The popular presenter last appeared on the Breakfast Show on August 8, and hasn’t uttered a word since her unexplained, and unexpected departure.
Despite fans expressing their worry, presenters covering her – Scott Mills and Gaby Roslin – haven’t aknowledged Zoe’s absence on air, leading listeners to worry further.
Thankfully, news came this week that the beloved presenter will return to the airwaves on Monday September 23, BBC schedules indicate.
Now she’s also been pictured out and about for the first time with her ex-husband – and father of her children Woody, 23, and Nelly, 24 – DJ Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook.
Fans will be relieved to hear she looked joyful as she laughed with a group of people including her ex-husband outside a café in Hove on Sunday.
Photos showed Zoe wearing a pink t-shirt with a black cardigan as the group chatted and then walked along the beachfront.
This is the first time Zoe has been pictured in public for over a month.
Zoe’s son Woody also told the Daily Mail: ‘My mum and I like to keep our private lives to ourselves but I will say I have stepped up and spent a lot more time with her recently as she has always been there when I’ve had tough times. I’m glad to see her smiling.’
On August 8, Zoe’s last radio appearance, she signed off as normal and said: ‘See you at dawn.’
On Friday, August 9, Gaby Roslin could be heard welcoming the 6.30am audience instead of the presenter.
Speaking on the August 12 show, Mills told listeners that he was unexpectedly taking over the breakfast slot for a few weeks, but didn’t explain why.
‘If you set your alarm every morning to go off at 6:30am and normally Zoe comes on, please do not freak out. You have not overslept,’ he told listeners.
‘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.”‘
The presenter had only just returned to her 6.30am Breakfast slot on August 5 after a short break for her late mum’s birthday who died suddenly in April 12 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.
Keeping things light on her return after her late mum’s birthday, the presenter asked ‘What did I miss?’ after saying her family, which includes two children with ex Fatboy Slim, were ‘bereft’.
The radio DJ had announced her mother Julia Peckham’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March, subsequently taking time off work to care for her in what was her last unexpected absence.
Her mum died on April 24, with Zoe sharing: ‘Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy, and how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts.
‘We are bereft without you but will hold so tight to each other. Your grace & your smile that lit up every room you were in, will light the stars to guide us.’
Zoe married Norman, 60, in 1999, having met while she worked at BBC Radio 1 and welcomed Woody the following year.
They temporarily split in 2003 but reconciled – welcoming Nelly in 2010 – and stayed together until 2016 when they separated and finalised their divorce four years later.
The former couple seem to be on good terms since their split, as earlier this summer they were videoed dancing together supporting their son Woody, as hefollows in his father’s DJing footsteps.
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