Zoe Ball confirmed on Saturday that she would be stepping down from her BBC Radio 2 role in the new year after seven years in the job. The star had spent nearly six years in the role when she first stepped down from her breakfast show in December 2024, before returning to the station again four and a half months later for a new afternoon slot.
Zoe's final stint as presenter for the slot will be next Saturday, but she has confirmed that she will still be on the network for a selection of special shows, including a 'Christmas crooners' special and an era show next year. When she previously stepped down, Zoe was in tears, and told listeners: "It's been such a gift to do this show… Pretty cool to be the first lass to host, and I won't be the last. Remember, girls, you can do anything."
The star was previously the corporation's second-highest earner, and she earned £950,000 from April 2023 to 2024; the only presenter with a higher salary at the time was Gary Lineker. However, following her return to the show, Zoe was on a lower salary, only earning £510,000.
She told fans: "I have loved being betwixt my dear friends Romesh [Ranganathan] and Rylan [Clark], and you know, I love you all to bits, but I'm not disappearing completely. Obviously, it'll be Christmas Crooners and I'm doing an eras show in the new year, more on that later."
Speaking about her replacement, the 55-year-old continued: "But I am thrilled to tell you that you will be in the safest of hands, because there is a super woman who is no stranger to you all, but this does mean that she will officially become a member of the Radio 2 family.
"You'll have loved her on The Voice, The Circle, Big Brother, Cooking with the Stars, Love Is Blind, and delivering babies, she's a gorgeous lass so welcome to the BBC Radio 2 family and Saturday afternoons, Emma Willis."
Speaking about joining the network, Emma, 49, said: "It's really exciting, and it's quite nerve-wracking as well, because you've got, you always have fantastic boots and shoes, but they are very big boots and shoes to step into Zoe Ball."
This isn't Emma's first time presenting a radio show, as the star has previously hosted a radio show on Heart between 2012 and 2018, and she has been a cover presenter on BBC Radio 2 since 2019, including for the likes of Romesh Ranganathan, Claudia Winkleman and Sara Cox.
Emma's busy schedule
Although Emma will be taking on a busy role, the presenter already knows how to juggle her professional and personal life.
Speaking about how she looks after herself, she told HELLO! back in January 2024: "My favourite way to take a moment for myself is normally a form of exercise, which I used to feel like I didn't have time for because there were other important priorities.
"But when I started prioritising that for myself, it made me turn up in a much better way for my family, rather than running around like a headless chicken, trying to achieve everything and feeling like I was going to combust. I learnt it from Matt [Willis – her husband] – he's really good at it."
She continued: "I love Pilates, boxing or getting a pedicure, but I only ever did them on holiday. Also, meeting a mate for lunch. I've realised that I don’t really do anything socially. There's that guilt that I should be at home with my kids, putting them to bed, but actually, there's nothing wrong with going out occasionally."