Gaby Roslin has revealed that Zoe Ball will return to BBC Radio 2 with a “new show” after the presenter stepped down from her breakfast slot late last year after six years.
Ball, 54, emotionally signed off from her final Breakfast Show in December, telling listeners it was “time to step away and focus on family”.
The presenter hinted that she would return to the station in Spring 2025 for “new adventures”, but did not disclose in what capacity or whether she was presenting another primetime slot.
However, Roslin, who had regularly stepped in to cover her friend Ball when the presenter took an extended break from the show last year, has appeared to confirm that Ball will front a “new show” when she returns.
During a new interview with the i, Roslin was asked about the current musical chairs shift happening in the radio industry, with Ball stepping down, Mishal Husain leaving Radio 4’s Today programme and Jordan North swapping Radio 1 for Capital FM.
Asked about Ball’s future, Roslin replied: “She’s not stepping down, she’s going to have a new show on Radio 2.”
“She was just exhausted. She was so tired,” added Roslin.
Ball’s departure from Radio 2 came after she took time off in April 2024 to care for her mother, Julie Peckham, who was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer earlier that year. In April, Peckham died aged 74, with Roslin and Mills stepping in to cover Ball’s morning slot.
Roslin continued: “Zoe and I have been friends for over 30 years, so it was lovely to be covering for her,” she says. “As everyone knows, her mum was ill, and then very sadly died, and Zoe knew that I had her back.”
Ball temporarily returned to the show on 8 August for four days before Mills took over again until she returned on 23 September.
As Ball emotionally signed off at the end of her final Breakfast Show broadcast, she told listeners: “You’re just there and I’m just here, having a chat with a mate. It’s such a special and intimate relationship.”
She said: “It’s been such a gift to do the show, to follow in the footsteps of Terry [Wogan] and Steve [Wright] and others. It’s been a privilege to be the first [woman] to present the show...remember girls, you can do anything.”
“I’ll see you in the Spring here on Radio 2, popping up to share new adventures. It’s been very special, take care of yourselves. Love you my peeps, my top cats,” she said, before hitting play on her final song, Münchener Freiheit’s 1988 hit “Keeping the Dream Alive”.
Shortly after it was announced Ball would be leaving, the BBC revealed that Scott Mills would be taking over Ball’s slot on weekday mornings from Monday (27 January), moving on from the weekday afternoon programme that he presents from 2pm to 4pm,
Mills said of the news that he and Ball have been friends for 25 years and that he was “beyond excited to be handed the baton”.
