BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball has gotten candid as she shares how difficult she found things following her mother’s death.
On her podcast Dig It, which she co-hosts with Jo Whiley, she admits: “I couldn’t work.”
‘I had a proper emotional breakdown’
She continued: “I was on the floor in the kitchen. I couldn’t, I couldn’t move.”
“I had a proper emotional breakdown, you know, I haven’t really talked about it actually. But it was, yeah, it was brutal.”
“Zoe added: I had an amazing doctor who turned up at my door with coffee and bagels and said, ‘so, we need to get you some help’, and he was wonderful.”
Relatably, Zoe emphasised how grief is a process, and how it never truly goes away.
In particular, she noted how she struggled on the anniversary of her mother’s death, and that there was “a lot of crying and pain” that “still has to come out.”
Zoe pays tribute to mother Julia
Zoe’s mother, Julia, died in April 2024, just weeks after revealing her cancer diagnosis.
In an Instagram post informing fans of her death, Zoe shared an old picture of her mother and wrote: “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.”
“We are bereft without you but will hold so tight to each other. Your grace and your smile that lit up every room you were in, will light the stars to guide us.”
Recently, one year on, Zoe once again took to Instagram to pay a touching tribute to Julia, simply writing: “Miss you beyond words, Mama. One year today.”
Zoe quits Radio 2
To fans’ delight, Zoe later returned to the airwaves — but mysteriously disappeared from the show over the summer.
She then quit her flagship BBC Radio 2 morning show last November, saying in a statement: ” 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.”
“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.”
Fortunately for fans, she returned to Radio 2 in May to start hosting a new afternoon show on a Saturday.
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