Zoe Ball has announced her replacement on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after confirming her exit earlier on Tuesday.
Confirming the news on her show this morning, the 53-year-old said that her last show will be on Friday December 20 after six years on air.
Ball later announced that Scott Mills will be her replacement, moving from his afternoon show slot on the station.
Trevor Nelson, who currently presents every evening from Monday to Thursday, will replace Mills as the presenter of the 2pm to 4pm weekday afternoon show from January 2025.
Other changes to the schedule will see DJ Spoony extend his weekly edition of The Good Grove – which currently runs on Friday nights from 9pm to 11pm.
It will now run on four weekly shows each night from Monday to Thursday, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s Kitchen Disco to be extended from one to two hours, starting at the new time of 9pm on Friday nights.
Ball had taken a break from hosting over the summer – with Mills stepping in as her replacement – before returning in September.
She told reporters she is ‘so proud’ of Mills, 51, adding: ‘It has all turned out nicely. I’m really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it.’
Zoe Ball has announced her replacement on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after confirming her exit earlier on Tuesday
Zoe Ball has announced Scot Mills as her replacement on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after confirming her exit earlier on Tuesday. Pictured: The pair are seen leaving Wogan House in central London together after Zoe announced the news
Confirming the news on her show this morning, the 53-year-old said that her last show will be on Friday December 20 after six years on air
Announcing the news to listeners earlier this morning, she said: ‘After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.’
The veteran presenter said she was ‘thrilled’ to reveal her good friend Mill, as her replacement, telling listeners: ‘Scott and I go way back to our Radio 1 days, when he was doing early mornings before me. He’s been a close friend for years, and I’m beyond thrilled it’s him taking over the Breakfast Show.
‘Breakfast has always been his dream, and what a year he’s had – from racing around the world to his beautiful wedding to Sam. He’s not only a blooming brilliant producer but one of the best in radio. I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!’.
Speaking on his afternoon show later on Tuesday, Mills told his listeners: ‘I can’t thank you enough for how lovely you all were when I took over from Steve (Wright), and I know that you’re going to extend that love to Trevor Nelson.
‘Honestly, I can’t wait to start with you every morning.’
Ball 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.
Lineker revealed he had been axed from Match of the Day earlier this month, in the latest of a string of high profile BBC exits.
Scott Mills is seen in the Radio 2 studio alongside Vernon Kay
Trevor Nelson (pictured), who currently presents every evening from Monday to Thursday, will replace Mills as the presenter of the 2pm to 4pm weekday afternoon show from January 2025
Ball was previously married to DJ Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook from 1999 to 2016, and they share two children together. This picture was taken in 1999
Ball was the first female host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1998, a post she held until 2000, and she also co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.
Ball told listeners this morning: ‘You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we?
‘We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.’
She added: ‘But I won’t miss the 4am alarm call, if I’m completely honest.’
