Zoe Ball has detailed the painful health condition she has been battling, following her decision to step down from her role as the host of Radio 2’s breakfast show after six years.
The broadcaster, 53, announced her decision earlier this month, with Scott Mills set to step in as the next presenter.
In her final weeks of fronting the breakfast programme, Ball took to Instagram to share with fans how her early wake-up calls have been made worse by temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
The TMJ is the joint between your jawbone and your temporal bone. Disorders can cause jaw, neck, and shoulder pain as well as vision problems, dizziness and headaches.
Ball shared photos of herself before and after having a lymphatic drainage massage in a bid to relax the muscles and ease pain from the condition.
“I have TMJ and wake most days with awful headaches from tension and jaw clenching,” she wrote on Instagram to her 739,000 followers.
“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.”
The radio star, who replaced Chris Evans in the breakfast show slot back in 2018, confirmed that she would be departing the station in December in a statement to fans.
“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.”
She revealed that her final show would air on 20 December, “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.
Ball also teased that she would not be “disappearing entirely” and will remain “a part of the Radio 2 family”, with further news arriving in the New Year.
Mills, 51, previously stood in for Ball earlier this year when she took a break to care for her mother Julia, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in April.
“Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1,” he said in a statement.
“She’s done an incredible job on this show after the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.”
