Zoe Ball was seen out Christmas shopping with her former husband, Fatboy Sim, in Brighton on Monday, following her departure from her BBC Radio 2 show.
The 55-year-old DJ surprised her audience by announcing on the radio this weekend that she’s leaving her weekly show after only seven months.
Zoe announced that her last regular Saturday lunchtime show will be on December 20th. However, she reassured listeners she won’t be gone for good and plans to return to host occasional special programs for the station.
The presenter seemed cheerful while shopping with her ex-partner, Norman Cook, and his tour manager, Alan Carr.
Zoe wore a dark brown jacket and matching suede boots for her outing.
Wearing dark navy jeans and a black top, the broadcaster completed her look with a brown handbag.
Norman kept his style relaxed, wearing a black jacket, a black t-shirt, and dark jeans.
Zoe and Norman married in 1999 and have two children: a 25-year-old son named Woody and a 16-year-old daughter named Nelly. They separated in 2016.
The presenter discussed leaving her show on Tuesday, telling the Daily Mail she was simply taking a break. This comes as rumors circulate that she may be in talks to host Strictly Come Dancing.
The presenter, speaking from her home in Hove, East Sussex, stated she wouldn’t be making any further comments about her decision.
Zoe left her popular breakfast show on Radio 2 last November after hosting it for six years, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.
It’s understandable she’d prefer to spend more time at home, especially after completely renovating the lovely seaside house she purchased in March of last year for £2 million.
Her attractive house, painted peach and white, has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Like many homes on the street, it was originally divided into separate apartments.
After almost a year of work, the building has been completely renovated into a beautiful, unique home. The new design features bright and playful décor, a big change from its previously minimalist style.
In April, Zoe shared a photo series on Instagram showing off her home makeover. She explained that she’d been working on the house and garden to add some personality, color, and warmth, as the rooms were originally quite plain with white and grey walls. She credited designer Catherine from @arior_design with bringing her vision to life.
The celebrity also expressed gratitude to the local contractors who renovated the property, highlighting them with the hashtags ‘#sussexbusinesses’ and ‘#sussextrades’.
Catherine Smith, the director of Arior Design in Brighton and the lead designer on the renovations, carefully preserved the home’s original details, such as its decorative ceiling moldings, tiled entrance hall, fireplace, and wooden parquet floors.
She updated the rooms with a fresh, personal touch. The living room, for example, featured peach walls and comfortable forest green velvet furniture, accented by a classic movie poster, a beautiful Persian rug, and lots of interesting decorative items displayed on the shelves.
The kitchen continues the warm, earthy color palette, with terracotta walls nicely contrasting the sage green cabinets. Plenty of plants add life and freshness to the shelving.
The hallway feels just as cozy and inviting, continuing the coral color scheme. Playful posters and a striking use of black on the door frames, radiators, and banister all combine to create a really chic space.
The downstairs bathroom follows the dark color scheme, but it’s brightened up with playful orange wallpaper featuring fish and shiny gold fixtures.
The master bedroom has a brighter feel, featuring sheer white curtains, simple cotton and linen sheets, floral wallpaper, and plenty of built-in sage green cabinets.
Large windows fill the house with natural light, creating a bright and welcoming atmosphere that’s as beautiful as the interior design.
The backyard was once completely covered in artificial grass, featuring a large pool and very few plants or bushes.
Henry Agg, a landscape gardener from East Sussex with almost 600,000 Instagram followers, turned the space into a peaceful and relaxing retreat.
His videos revealed a large garden redesigned with different areas separated by light-coloured gravel and paving. He’d filled in the swimming pool to create cozy seating and planted vibrant, colourful flowers everywhere.
In May, he shared on Instagram about creating a lovely garden for Zoe Ball, saying he enjoyed the design and makeover of the space.
As a lifestyle expert, one of the things I always look for is location, and this home really delivers! It’s amazing because you get the best of everything – you’re close enough to the beach for a quick stroll, and the train station is right there, making London easily accessible in just over an hour. It truly offers that perfect blend of seaside living and city convenience.
Oh my gosh, Zoe used to live in the most incredible house! It was built way back in the 1920s by this amazing architect, Baron Vladimir de Wolff, in Ditchling. It wasn’t just a house, it was a mansion – six bedrooms! And can you believe it had a swimming pool, a tennis court, and what felt like endless gardens? I’ve seen the pictures a million times, and it’s still breathtaking. I seriously dream about living somewhere like that!
Last year, when she moved, she sold her 18th-century cottage for £1.25 million, making a profit of £275,000 over the £975,000 she originally paid for it two years earlier.
Prior to that, in February 2018, the BBC personality resided in a £2.5 million beachfront home in Brighton.
Zoe’s move to Hove was seen as a chance for a new beginning. A source told the Daily Mail she had grown tired of rural life and wanted a more vibrant environment.
She’s been completely absorbed in decorating her house, happily shopping for furniture and little details to make it exactly how she wants it.
The situation also intentionally led to her reconnecting with her ex-husband, Norman Cook – also known as the DJ Fatboy Slim – and they’ve remained close friends.
After 18 years together, the couple separated in 2016 and officially divorced in 2020. They described reaching a natural ending to their relationship, having shared many happy experiences over the years.
Their relationship faced some serious challenges. They separated for a short time in 2003 after Zoe had an affair with a friend of her husband’s, DJ Dan Peppe. Later, before their divorce was finalized, she was photographed kissing Tay Tay Starhz, a 22-year-old member of the British pop group Franklin Lake, while both appeared intoxicated.
I’ve always admired how Norman and Zoe have managed their relationship, even after everything. They’ve really prioritized co-parenting and remained good friends, which is lovely to see. It honestly warmed my heart when I read his autobiography earlier this year and he actually called Zoe his ‘soulmate’ – it just shows how much they still care for each other.
He explained to The Mirror that during the 1990s, he was too caught up in the moment to worry about the future. He described it as riding a huge wave – you just had to hold on and enjoy the ride.
I could be honest with Zoe and say, ‘I’m a little scared. Doesn’t this feel scary?’ We could share those feelings because we were both in the public eye. It was comforting to have someone who understood what I was going through.
Now that both Norman and his friend live in Hove – Norman purchased a cafe by the beach there in 2013 and recently sold it this November – they’ve been seeing each other more often. They’ve traded their energetic younger days for more relaxed pastimes.
Their son, Woody, recently shared with the Daily Mail that his parents, who used to be known for their wild parties, have embraced a quieter life. He described them as now enjoying hobbies like gardening and puzzles, and even working at a local café, which he found amusing to witness.
Honestly, it’s been the funniest thing watching my parents get into gardening over the last five years! Both of them, can you believe it? It’s just… so unexpected and adorable, and I love seeing them out there!
The wild friends I knew growing up have really changed – they’re now into things like gardening, puzzles, and working at the local café.
It’s really amusing to watch myself go through this phase – finally starting to become independent and launching into a huge new chapter with my music. It feels like I’m really leaving home and stepping into my own, and it’s a pretty wild ride!
Zoe and Norman first met in 1998 while Zoe was working in Ibiza, hosting the Radio 1 Breakfast Show for three years. They got married the next year.
She became known as the face of the ‘ladette’ culture in the nineties due to her wild partying and heavy drinking. She’s since shared that she barely remembers much of her time in the spotlight.
She sought treatment for addiction, which she says helped her get better, and later stopped drinking completely. This happened around the time she and Norman welcomed their daughter, Nelly, in 2010.
Zoe has often talked about how it took years to conceive again, and she believes it happened after they stopped drinking. She feels like their daughter, Nelly, was a kind of reward for giving up alcohol – a feeling that was very strong for her.
Following her breakup with Norman, she started a relationship with Billy Yates, a friend she’d known for a long time, in 2017. Sadly, Billy struggled with depression for years and passed away by suicide that same year.
In a heartfelt interview in 2020, the celebrity shared that facing his own mortality was the most difficult experience of his life.
Zoe later dated model Michael Reed, but they broke up in 2023. People close to the couple said things started to fall apart because he became quite controlling.
Last April, the presenter’s mother, Julia, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer. They hadn’t been in contact for many years.
Zoe’s parents separated when she was very young, and she grew up mainly with her father and stepmother, Di. They always told her she was welcome to see her mother, but Zoe wasn’t interested.
Zoe hadn’t seen her mother since she was five years old, and they didn’t truly make amends until Zoe attended her mother’s 40th birthday party in the late 1990s.
Last year, the DJ had to take a break from her Radio 2 breakfast show after her mother passed away. She eventually left the show, and experienced radio host Scott Mills, 52, took over.
Earlier this year, she shared how deeply affected she was by her mother’s death, explaining that she had to take time off work after experiencing a breakdown.
On her podcast, Dig It, co-hosted with Jo Whiley, Zoe Ball described a recent experience where she was completely unable to function. She explained that she was so overwhelmed she couldn’t even get up from the kitchen floor.
I went through a really tough emotional time, something I haven’t discussed much. It was honestly a very difficult experience.
After experiencing a lot of hardship, sources say Zoe is now focusing on spending time with her close family, who live on the Sussex coast.
Someone mentioned that Zoe is happy with her life in Hove and wants to focus more on her children rather than working more.
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2025-12-16 17:51