Zoe Ball has opened up about the possibility of being “cancelled” while broadcasting live on the BBC.
The 53-year-old is facing a spell off-air after being replaced by DJ Scott Mills on Monday. It is not the first time Zoe has stepped away from her show this year, after grieving the tragic loss of her mum in the spring.
She pulled out of Friday’s show at the 11th hour, being replaced by stand-in Gaby Roslin. In an unearthed interview from 2023 on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware, Zoe discussed how she dealt with backlash she received online.
The star confessed she sometimes finds herself “annoying”, so anticipates some criticism from her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show listeners. She added: “You have to protect yourself slightly.
“With socials and stuff I have a Twitter account but I tend to use it for work. You only have to read one comment that can send you down such a… because people feel, at times, like they want to tell you terrible things.
“You have to believe in yourself but also the most important thing, and you’ll find this too, is your family and friends.
“And I love that my mates are like, ‘just take the mickey out of me’ and your kids just bring you back down to earth.
“And that’s kind of what life is about, your friends and family. And I’m really lucky to be doing a job, and still be doing it 30 years later.
“I could be cancelled at any moment, it’s a risk every morning. You are only one sentence away from cancelling yourself.”
On Monday, Scott confirmed Zoe would be away for “weeks” this time, with the BBC later confirming she will return in September.
Her comeback came days after she told followers it was her late mum’s ‘heavenly’ birthday – the first one since she died in April.
The presenter said her family had been left “bereft” following Julia’s death. While sharing the sad news, Zoe thanked her mum for “teaching us how to love unconditionally”.
Zoe revealed in March she would occasionally be absent from the airwaves while she spent time with her mother. Julia was later taken to a hospice, with Zoe announcing her death on social media the following month.
Radio 2 star Zoe is the BBC‘s second-highest earner, raking in between £950,000 and £954,999 a year. The only star to receive a higher salary in the past year was Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.
