Zoe Ball said she felt “great” and was off to spend time with her children after presenting her final BBC Radio 2 breakfast show.
The presenter, 54, received messages from singer Kylie Minogue, England footballer Alessia Russo and Doctor Who star David Tennant, as she said goodbye to her breakfast programme for the final time on Friday.
Leaving BBC’s Broadcasting House in London, Ball told the PA news agency: “I’m feeling great, I’m going to see my kids.”
The presenter, wearing a black puffer jacket, and carrying a big bunch of flowers and a green bag saying “new member of the late night, lazy morning crew”, also hugged staff in reception, signed autographs for a group of fans huddled outside, and told journalists: “Merry Christmas.”
Signing off, Ball had thanked her listeners, saying: “It’s been a real privilege to keep your company through your morning manoeuvres.”
“You’re just there and I’m just here having a chat with a mate. It’s such a special intimate relationship.
“It’s never lost on me that we’ve been through life’s little highs and little lows together.
Before playing the final song, Keeping The Dream Alive, Ball said: “I have most definitely felt that love from you listeners. I feel very lucky to have been here.
“I really do hope that we’ve managed to bring some sunshine and light when you’ve most needed a daft distraction from the hardest stuff, I’ve been bowled over by your messages, texts, emails, cards and letters across the years.
“I send buckets of love out to you and your dear ones this Christmas, it’s been very special. Take care of yourselves, lovely peeps, my top cats.”
Just before 9.30am, Ball promised a listener she was “not moving far”, and teased that she would be back in the spring.
She said she wanted to send love, especially to her family, and children, Woody and Nell, who “fill me with wonder every day, being your mum is the best thing that ever happened to me”.
Ball also gave a shout-out to “all the marvellous folk who work at Radio 2, our boss, Helen (Thomas), she has a tough job but she does it with great care. I have so much respect for her”.
She also told staff, including security guards, cleaners, presenters and the production team, that “you’re all wonderful and you’ve made our show so fun”.
She began the programme in an upbeat mood, quoting adapted lines from Les Miserables’ One Day More, telling listeners: “Another day, another destiny, one final show from me, ZB… only joking, I’m not going to sing, let’s have some Daft Punk.”
She also paid tribute to Radio 2 star Steve Wright, who died in February, saying: “We miss you darling man, but your magic is with us always, thank you so much for being an amazing broadcaster and a friend to all of our listeners.”
Ball was previously married to Norman Cook, known as Fatboy Slim, and the pair have two children together, son Woody Fred Cook, born in 2000, and daughter Nelly May Lois Cook, who was born in 2010.
She also broke down in tears after Woody sent her a message saying she had done an “amazing job”.
Tennant, who has presented Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day with Ball, told her: “You’ve been so amazing over the last six years.
“Oh my lord, the country’s going to miss you – the best person to have breakfast with.”
Minogue said: “Thank you for an incredible six years. The nation loves you and I love you, and every time I’ve been in to see you, it’s been so much fun.”
As BBC presenter Vernon Kay began his Radio 2 show from 9.30am, he called Ball a “mate for life”, and said she would be “missed”.
Earlier during Ball’s show, she became emotional saying “get the tissues” following tributes from her fellow DJs including Rylan Clark, Kay, Jeremy Vine, Dermot O’Leary and Jo Whiley.
Radio 2 newsreader Tina Daheley told Ball that her departure was “quite overwhelming” following the station’s staff, including traffic and travel presenter Richie Anderson and sports presenter Mike Williams, also giving heartfelt tributes on-air.
Ball began presenting The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show almost six years ago, in January 2019, taking over from radio presenter Chris Evans and becoming the first woman to present the show.
She announced her decision to leave in November, saying it was time for her to “step away from the very early mornings and focus on family”.
Ball will return to the airwaves to present two episodes of Zoe Ball’s Christmas Crooners, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
From January, Scott Mills will take over the breakfast show and his previous weekday slot of 2pm to 4pm will be filled by Trevor Nelson.
Last month, Ball said on Instagram that she wakes up most days with “awful headaches” because of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
The condition affects the movement of the jaw and causes pain in the joint and surrounding muscles, according to the NHS.
Ball took a break from hosting her breakfast show over the summer and returned in September.
She was the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female presenter in 2023/24 with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999, ranking her second on the list of top-earning talent behind Gary Lineker, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.
