Zoe Ball has faced a turbulent life, tinged with relationship woes, battles with alcohol, and family loss.
The BBC Radio 2 star was hit by another devastating blow when she revealed that her ‘dear mama’ Julia had sadly passed away, after battling pancreatic cancer.
Paying tribute on Instagram, Zoe wrote: ‘Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy. And how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts.
This is the latest in a string of blows for Zoe, who has overcome the end of her 18-year marriage to Fatboy Slim, as well the loss of her stepfather and a stint in rehab.
takes a look-back at the struggles Zoe has faced during her 30-year career…
Splitting from her husband
In 2016, Zoe revealed that she had split from her husband Norman Cook , known as Fatboy Slim, after 18 years of marriage (pictured in 2002)
Their romance began in 1997 after they met in Ibiza and they married two years later
In 2016, Zoe revealed that she had split from her husband Norman Cook, known as Fatboy Slim, after 18 years of marriage.
In a statement the couple insisted that they would remain ‘great friends’ and continue to co-parent their two children, Woody, 23, and Nelly, 14.
But a source told The Sun: ‘Zoe packed her bags and left. They have been arguing a lot recently and she decided she’d had enough.’
The newspaper claims the marriage has been in trouble in their marriage for months when the couple fought during a trip to Ibiza.
The source added: ‘There was a row about her drinking and it all came out then. Zoe is supposed to be dry but she has been going out drinking more and more with girlfriends.’
It also came nine months after Zoe was seen embracing Franklin Lake singer Tay Tay Starhz at the 2015 wrap party for Strictly Come Dancing’s BBC2 spin-off show It Takes Two.
Zoe reportedly met the rising pop star at Soho’s Freedom nightclub in the early hours of the morning.
She revealed she was feeling worse for wear on Twitter the following day, writing: ‘Ouch. It Takes Two wrap party last night. Piecing together the crews drunken antics in Soho.’ (sic)
A spokesman for Zoe dismissed her antics on the night out, insisting: ‘This was nothing more than a silly moment at a Christmas party that meant absolutely nothing.’
Later, the presenter alluded to the kiss on Twitter with a post that read: ‘Ouch. It Takes Two wrap party last night. Piecing together the crew’s drunken antics in Soho.’
Further playing down the incident, Zoe later joked of her husband: ‘He has always said he wants his gravestone to read, ‘Norman was a very patient man.’ And that sums it up really!’
Their romance began in 1997 after they met in Ibiza and they married two years later – but split briefly in 2003 when it emerged she had an affair with a close friend of her husband’s DJ Dan Peppe.
Despite a turbulent end to their marriage, Norman and Zoe have stayed on good terms, with the DJ saying in 2023 that Zoe would ‘check him’ on his behaviour
Following the revelation Norman said he still loved Zoe and would take her back, as long as she promised never to see Peppe again.
The Praise You hitmaker confessed at the time: ‘I still love her. If you love someone you’ll forgive them. I’ve spoken to her today and she is genuinely remorseful.’
Despite a turbulent end to their marriage, Norman and Zoe have stayed on good terms, with the DJ discussing their relationship in a 2023 interview, sharing that Zoe would ‘check him’ on his behaviour.
He told the Changes podcast: ‘One thing I did have to keep a lid on during that crazy time was my ego.
‘While you’ve got licence to break rules, you’ve always got a lot of people who’ll let you get away with murder.
‘Zoe was really good for me for that, because she knew the fame game and we would sort of check each other.
‘If I wasn’t respectful to people, she’d go: ‘Oi, come on, that’s not how we behave! Go back and thank them for that.’
‘We were both quite good at keeping each other’s feet on the ground. Because it’s hard when everyone’s saying: ‘Here, have this, take this, drink this, you’re brilliant.’
‘It’s hard to keep some kind of limit and say: ”I am actually a human being, not a superstar.” I think we probably saved each other a lot of bother.’
Her boyfriend’s tragic suicide
In 2017, Zoe faced more heartbreak when her boyfriend Billy Yates died by suicide after a long battle with depression
In an emotional 2020 interview, the star admitted that Billy’s death was ‘the hardest thing she’s ever had to deal with in her life’
In 2017, Zoe faced more heartbreak when her boyfriend Billy Yates died by suicide after a long battle with depression.
Zoe and Billy, a cameraman and technician, were friends for years and began dating following her marriage split from DJ Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook in 2016 and were first pictured together in February 2017.
In an emotional 2020 interview, the star admitted that Billy’s death was ‘the hardest thing she’s ever had to deal with in her life.’
Zoe discussed the cameraman’s struggle with mental health and revealed that Billy lived with depression for most of his life.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, she said: ‘I think it’s so isolating to be trapped in your mind like that, when you doubt yourself, you doubt everything you’ve ever known. You doubt your family love you. You doubt your friends care for you.’
But she insisted there is always help available and that ‘it’s important to share there is hope.’
Zoe remembered the man she loved and said ‘he was so full of love and would help anyone in need’, and insisted he should be ‘remembered for his life, not his death.’
Her stepfather’s death
In 2021, Zoe marked the anniversary of her stepfather Rick’s death, sharing that he passed away in 2012 after battling motor neurone disease (Rick is pictured marrying Zoe’s mother)
In a 2021 interview, Zoe marked the anniversary of her stepfather Rick’s death, sharing that he passed away in 2012 after battling motor neurone disease.
Zoe’s parents Julia and Johnny Ball, a former TV presenter, splitting up in 1972 after just three years of marriage.
Johnny remarried his second wife, Dianne Cheryl, in 1976, with the pair remaining together today, while Julia remarried Rick.
Speaking on her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, the star discussed the campaigning of former rugby star Doddie Weir, who was raising funds to find a cure for the disease.
She said: ‘Hopefully one day we will find a cure. It’s a real special day in my family today.
‘We lost our stepdad Rick to Motor Neurone Disease on this day, quite a few years back now. We think about him every day, so obviously this is something pretty close to my heart.’
Alcohol struggles
In previous years, Zoe has detailed her struggles with alcohol and wild partying, having become the poster girl for ladette culture
She said it took her several attempts to tackle her alcohol problem that accompanied her career from children’s television presenter to the first female host of Radio 1’s Breakfast Show
Explaining how she finally dealt with her problem drinking, Zoe says: ‘I was lucky enough to go to rehab actually and through meeting other people who had addictions as well’
In previous years, Zoe has detailed her struggles with alcohol and wild partying, having become the poster girl for ladette culture.
The mother-of-two said it took her several attempts to tackle her alcohol problem that accompanied her career from children’s television presenter to the first female host of Radio 1’s Breakfast Show.
‘You’ll find that you’ll deal with it a little bit but then you slip back into old ways,’ she says. ‘It took me a couple of attempts to sort that out.’
Explaining how she finally dealt with her problem drinking, Zoe says: ‘I was lucky enough to go to rehab actually and through meeting other people who had addictions as well.’
Her reputation as a party girl increased after her 1999 marriage to superstar DJ Fatboy Slim, when she often found herself among other female stars known for their booze-fuelled antics.
‘It’s weird, because you do this job and you are talking and are gregarious and all these things but I am actually quite shy. But you could walk into the room if you’d had a drink.’
She credits her appearance in the 2005 series of Strictly Come Dancing, when she came third, for allowing her to reinvent herself as an adult presenter.
‘You go from this sort of ladette, this sort of boozy person who is always in trouble,’ she says.
‘I went on Strictly and people did a double-take. I will always be grateful to that show.’
Ladette culture
During her rise to fame in the 1990s, Zoe became the image of so-called ‘ladette culture’ thanks to her wild partying
Zoe has also confssed that while preparing to host her Radio 1 show live in Ibiza, she was so ‘high’ she had trouble speaking while hosting the live broadcast
During her rise to fame in the 1990s, Zoe became the image of so-called ‘ladette culture’ thanks to her wild partying.
She previously told Grazia Magazine: ‘I loved it at first. Hanging out with people who partied every day, woke at 5pm, had a few shots of vodka and a bag of chips, then went clubbing again.’
The star has also admitted that at times her partying was so wild, she only has ‘vague memories’ of her time at the helm of the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
She added: ‘It was quite a time. It was the Ninetines. It was wild, it was wild.’
Zoe has also confssed that while preparing to host her show live in Ibiza, she was so ‘high’ she had trouble speaking while hosting the live broadcast.
She added that her behaviour also began to concern BBC bosses, saying: ‘I remember turning up one day looking at the clock and trying to say it’s ten past seven – and all the words came out in the wrong order.
‘So something had to give. I know the bosses were a bit concerned about my health – and my mental health.’
Her mother’s death
In April 2024, Zoe shared that her beloved mother Julie had died after a short battle with cancer (pictured in 2011)
The BBC Radio 2 star announced in early March that her mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was being ‘incredibly brave’
In April 2024, Zoe shared that her beloved mother Julie had died after a short battle with cancer.
The BBC Radio 2 star announced in early March that her mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was being ‘incredibly brave’.
Earlier that week, Zoe told her BBC Radio 2 listeners Julia had been transferred to a hospice, as she dedicated a Bon Jovi song to paramedics who helped her.
In a tribute, she said: ‘Sleep tight dear Mama. Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy. And how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts.
It continued: ‘We are bereft without you but will hold so tight to each other. Your grace & your smile that lit up every room you were in, will light the stars to guide us.’
After announcing her mother’s illness last month, Gaby Roslin ‘occasionally’ stepped in to replace her on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show so the pair could spend time together.
Zoe shared the heartbreaking news a week earlier that Julia was being transferred into hospice care, telling listeners that things were ‘pretty tough at the moment for the family.’
She said: ‘Things are really tough for my mum at the moment, just sending out loads of love. Love you Mum.’
The broadcaster’s son Woody Cook, who she shares with ex-husband Norman Cook better known as British DJ Fatboy Slim, also shared a tribute on Instagram.
‘Today I say goodbye to Granny J, thank you for being a wonderful woman,’ the 23-year-old said, sharing a younger picture with his grandmother.
Zoe shared the heartbreaking news a week earlier that Julia was being transferred into hospice care, telling listeners that things were ‘pretty tough at the moment for the family’
Woody, who appeared on Netflix reality series The Circle in 2019, also referenced his grandmother’s late husband Rick Peckham.
He said: ‘The only person who always sent me a valentines card. I know you’re with Rick now, give him a hug from me.
‘I know he said once when you were panicking in a helicopter over the Jungle ‘If you get lost, follow the river!’ You’ll find him at the end.’
Zoe revealed her mother’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis on March 6, as she told fans on social media she would be taking time away from her BBC show to focus on her family, who were going through ‘tough times’ – but added her mother was being extremely ‘brave’.
Despite her mother’s diagnosis, Zoe remained positive as she told fans at the time she is ‘in awe’ of the nurses and doctors in charge of her care.
Posting a picture of Julia surrounded by family last month, as well as a second of her receiving chemotherapy in hospital, she wrote: ‘Heartbreakingly our beautiful Mama Julia has been diagnosed with Cancer.
‘As many of you know from experience, these are extremely tough times. Mum is being incredibly brave.
‘My brother Jamie & I are completely in awe of the brilliant Doctors, Nurses & support teams looking after Mum. Thank you.
‘Gratitude to our families & our extended family & friends at home & at work for their support at this time.
‘Sending out love to people reading this who are battling cancer, or awaiting diagnosis & also to the folk looking after their dear ones who are poorly.’