Biography - Zoe Ball

Who is Zoe Ball?

Zoe Ball is a big name in the “presenting” world and has worked as a presenter for more than two decades. From her hard-partying lifestyle and cheating scandals to her natural talent for presenting skills, she is the first female presenter of the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

Zoe Ball – Age, Parents, Siblings

Zoe Ball was born on 23 November 1970 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Her full name/ birth name is Zoe Louise Ball. Her father's name is Johnny Ball, an English Television personality and her mother’s name is Julia Ball.

She has two siblings, a brother named Jamie Clark and a sister named Hannah Peckham. Her parents divorced when she was only 2 years old. Her parents raised her in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire.

Education, Ethnicity

For her education, Ball attended Holy Cross Convent School in Chalfont St. Peter. Later she joined the Young Theatre, Beaconsfield, and there she trained to become an actress. She also attended Amersham College of Art and Technology.

Her ethnicity is English.

Zoe Ball – Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Divorce

Zoe Ball began to date DJ and musician Norman Cook who is also best known as Fatboy Slim. They had met when they were working at BBC Radio 1. After dating, the couple married on 20 August 1999.

But within 4 years, the couple split, the primary reason was Zoe had been unfaithful. She revealed that she had an affair with her husband Cook’s close friend Dan Peppe. The couple struggled through and they reconciled.

Ball and Cook have 2 children together. Their first child, a son named Woody Fred Cook was born on 15th December 2000 and their daughter Nelly May Lois Cook was born on 14th January 2010.

Also read: Jill Wagner - former TV host of Wipeout 

In 2015, she was pictured drunk and kissing boyband singer TayTay Starhz in a London gay club. This scene added strain to her relationship with her estranged husband Cook.

After 18 years together, they announced on 24 September 2016 that they were getting a divorce via a joint statement on Twitter.

After her divorce, she vowed to give up her hard drinking and partying habit, focus more on her kids, and disconnect from her drinking buddies.

She was in a relationship with businessman Michael Reed until early 2023.

Also read: Susan Olsen, host of The Brady Bunch

Zoe Ball – Boyfriend’s death

Ball was in a relationship with BBC cameraman Billy Yates and had dated for several months when he was found dead on May 4, 2017. Later it was revealed that Yates became a victim of suicide as depression consumed him after he fell to a financial scammer.

Ball later revealed that she had tried to save Yates after his previous two suicide attempts.

Zoe Ball – Career

Early Days

Ball’s career began when she was still a child. In the 1980s, she had appeared in the studio audience of the children’s show Saturday Superstore and her father was a guest on the show.

As an adult, her career began with BSkyB and Granada Television where she worked as a researcher and runner respectively.

Over the years, she has presented The Big Breakfast, Live & Kicking, Playdays, SMart (1994-1996), Top of the Pops (1996-1998), Strictly Dance Fever (2005), Extinct (2006), Soapstar Superstar (January 2007; second series), Grease Is the Word (March 2007).

Also read: Fearne Cotton - Radio host, Author, TV host of Top of the Pops 

Since 2009, Ball has worked in the shows Britain's Best Brain (2009), Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor (2013), The Voice UK (2014), The Voice: Louder on Two (2014), EastEnders: Backstage Live (2015), BBC Young Dancer (2015),  The Big Family Cooking Showdown (2017).

Zoe Ball was a contestant on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with Ian Waite and was placed in the third position.

She has also acted and produced several movies Still Crazy (1998), Offspring (2010), and The Lily Savage Show (1997).

Also read: Karen Laine - Host of Good Bones 

On the radio

Zoe Ball first found work on the radio. She became the presenter of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show in October 1997 and worked there until  March 2000.

In mid-2002, she joined XFM and presented the weekday drivetime show until December 2003. She left XFM in late 2004.

She then became a relief presenter for BBC Radio 2 and even became a Saturday breakfast show presenter on the same radio. On 3 October 2018, BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host Chris Evans announced that Zoe Ball is to be the new host beginning in January 2019.

Ball revealed that she will be paid less than Evans for the same job. She told the BBC News, “I’m definitely not expecting the same. We have discussed fees and I’m very, very happy with what the BBC is paying me. If it comes out one day – and these things tend to – then I’m hoping people will say ‘that’s fair’.”

Also read: Sara Cox - Radio host, Model, TV host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show 

Charity

In March 2018, Ball participated in the Hardest Ride Home challenge where she cycled from Blackpool to Brighton. The objective of the program was to raise money for Sports Relief and mental health awareness. 

A highlight of her 5-day ride was broadcast by BBC One on 21 March 2018. She was able to raise a total of £1,198,012 (US $1549090).

Also read: Leanne Ford - TV host, Reality TV star of Restored by the Fords 

Zoe Ball – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth and annual salary Ball are estimated to be around $10 million and $355k respectively.

Zoe Ball – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Zoe Ball is followed by several hundred thousand followers on social media sites such as Instagram, and Twitter but is absent from Facebook.

Also read: List of Radio Host