ZOE BREAKS COVER
Zoe Ball laughs and jokes with friends and ex husband Fatboy Slim in Brighton after ‘going missing’ from Radio 2 show
The presenter suffered a family tragedy earlier this year
ZOE Ball appeared in good spirits on a day out with ex husband Fatboy Slim and their friends after vanishing from her BBC Radio 2 show.
Zoe, the BBC's highest paid presenter after Gary Lineker, has taken six weeks off the flagship breakfast show but will return later this month.
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The legendary broadcaster, the BBC's highest earning female presenter, laughed and joked with the group at a beach cafe in Brighton.
Earlier this months insiders claimed "nobody knows what's going on" as she failed to return after her summer break.
Zoe, 53, takes the reins on the flagship show every weekday morning from 6:30am.
Last week her replacement Scott Mills, who is usually in the drivetime hotseat, addressed his appearance on her show and wished Zoe well.
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He said: "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.
"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."
A source told about the mystery surrounding Zoe's absence and said: "Nobody knows what has happened but everyone loves Zoe.
"We hope everything is okay. Zoe is so loved at the BBC so to not have her around is really noticeable."
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The BBC and Zoe has remained silent on the reason for her late return.
She had a tough time earlier this year as she revealed her mother Julia Peckham had cancer, and tragically passed in April.
Zoe Ball misses Radio 2 show and is replaced by co-star at the last minute
In recent years, the tragic loss of her mother to cancer and split with her partner of nearly six years, Michael Reed, has had a devastating impact on her.
Her partner Billy Yates sadly killed himself in 2017.
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Zoe Ball's career so far
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.
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