Zoe Ball, the BBC‘s second highest-paid presenter, is stepping down from her Radio 2 breakfast show after six years.
She is the second high-profile BBC broadcaster to announce they are leaving their main show following Gary Lineker’s announcement a fortnight ago. She will remain with the BBC, with more news early next year on what she will do next.
Ball made the announcement on her show this morning and her final appearance will be Friday December 20.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Radio 2 boss Helen Thomas thanked Ball “for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first.”
Ball’s slot in the mornings on Radio 2 is one of the BBC’s most lucrative. As per the latest BBC annual report, she was the corporation’s second top-paid presenter, earning between £950,000 and £954,999 last year. This places her second behind Lineker, who is also exiting his main BBC show, Match of the Day, in a few months’ time. As with Ball, Lineker is remaining with the BBC to lead other soccer coverage.
Ball replaced Chris Evans helming the breakfast gig in 2018 when he departed to Virgin Radio. She had first joined BBC radio in 1997 as the co-host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, becoming the first woman to host that program solo a year later. In 2006, she joined Radio 2 to present documentaries and other shows. From 2009 to 2012, she presented the Saturday early morning breakfast show, returning permanently to Radio 2 in 2017 as the host of the Saturday afternoon show.
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