Zoë Ball
Encyclopedia
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1
breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking
.
and his wife Julia (née Anderson, divorced when Zoë was two), Ball was educated at Heston Junior School in West London
between 1975 and 1978. Her family then moved to Farnham Common
in Buckinghamshire
. She attended Farnham Common First School and Farnham Common Middle School before moving to Holy Cross Convent School in Chalfont St Peter
and Amersham
College of Art and Technology. She joined the Young Theatre at Beaconsfield
where she trained as an actress. Her first TV appearance was as a child in the studio audience of the Saturday morning children's show, Saturday Superstore
, on which her father was appearing as a guest.
She began her television career as a runner at Granada Television
and researcher on BSkyB
. She worked as a researcher for quiz shows for two years. Her presenting jobs have included hosting The Big Breakfast
and The Priory on Channel 4
, BBC One
's Saturday morning children's programme Live & Kicking
and the pre-school programme Playdays
. Between 1996 and 1998, she was a regular presenter on Top of the Pops
, usually alternating with fellow presenters and DJs Jayne Middlemiss
and Jo Whiley
. The three only ever presented together once, on Christmas Day 1997.
Between 1999 and 2001, she was a co-host with Jamie Theakston
on the Wednesday night chat/music show The Priory, which was commissioned by Chris Evans's then production company Ginger Productions
. Despite initial strong ratings, the show failed to capitalise on this despite the demise of TFI Friday
(also a Ginger production) and figures slowly dropped. A fourth series was never commissioned. Despite the show's relative failure, fans of the former UK Play spoof interviews show Rock Profile
, often recall the creators and future stars of Little Britain
, Matt Lucas
and David Walliams
's, appearance on the show as Danny and Noel from Hear'Say
, in which they constantly sang "Monday, Monday
" after Theakston asked them a question. As Theakston was the interviewer on Rock Profile, he as a result reprised his role from that show.
Ball co-hosted the 2002 BRIT Awards
with Frank Skinner
, following which motherhood meant that she took less TV work.
In 2005, after co-hosting the BBC reality show Strictly Dance Fever
, Ball became a contestant on series 3 of its sister show Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Ian Waite
. Ball and Waite were ranked in third place; they also scored 38/40 (including two tens) for three dances in the series and one in the Christmas special.
At the end of 2006, Ball co-hosted ITV1
's Extinct
, with Sir Trevor McDonald
.
In January 2007, she presented the second series of ITV1's Soapstar Superstar
, taking over from Fern Britton
and Ben Shephard
, who hosted the first series. In March 2007, she hosted the ITV
talent search Grease Is the Word
.
She and Theakston presented Channel 5's TV quiz series Britain's Best Brain
in 2009.
breakfast show in October 1997 with Kevin Greening
. She eventually graduated to become the sole host – the first female DJ to do so. At this time, her hard-drinking, hard-partying antics contributed to the identification of the so-called "ladette culture
" of the late 1990s. She later notoriously re-created the naked pose on a backturned chair made famous by Christine Keeler
when doing an interview and spread with SKY
magazine.
Ball left BBC Radio 1 in March 2000 to bring up a family. Her final breakfast show was on 30 March 2000, and she was succeeded by Sara Cox
.
Though regarded as professional, Ball twice received a BBC warning for swearing on the radio – first when she used the word "bastard" while being interviewed by Chris Evans during his stint on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show (she was publicising her appointment to The Big Breakfast at the time); then, as host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show, for using the expression "fucking brilliant" to describe a night out she had.
She returned to radio in mid-2002 when she joined London
rock station XFM
, where she presented the weekday drivetime show until December 2003 and then in January 2004 took over a Friday evening music show for the station. She also stood in for Ricky Gervais
while he filmed the second series of The Office
. She left XFM at the end of 2004.
In September 2007, she celebrated 40 years of Radio 1 by hosting a show with Sara Cox.
Since 2006, she has provided relief presenting duties for BBC Radio 2
, fronting specialist documentaries, sitting in for Dermot O'Leary
for three weeks in February 2006 and co-presenting, along with Danny Baker
, the hastily-conceived replacement for Jonathan Ross
' Saturday morning show, in the wake of Ross' suspension due to Sachsgate in 2008.
From 2009, as well as Simon Mayo
, Ball has been considered one of the main relief presenters for Ken Bruce
's weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2. She also began hosting the Saturday breakfast show from 6:00 am to 8:00 am on the network from 6 June 2009 as part of a shake up of weekend programming at Radio 2. She is back on Radio 2 from her maternity leave.
in Somerset
in August 1999. In 2003, the couple split up when Ball revealed that she had an affair with close friend of Cook and fellow DJ, Dan Peppe
. They later patched up their relationship.
The couple have a son, Woody (born 15 December 2000), and daughter Nelly May Lois Ball (born 14 January 2010). They live in Hove
.
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking was a BBC Saturday morning children's magazine programme, running from 1993 to 2001. The fourth in a succession of Saturday morning shows, it was the replacement for Going Live!, and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, comedy, competitions and the showing of...
.
TV career
The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny BallJohnny Ball
Johnny Ball is a British television personality, a great populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoë Ball.-Early life:...
and his wife Julia (née Anderson, divorced when Zoë was two), Ball was educated at Heston Junior School in West London
West London
West London generally refers to the western portions of London, and may refer specifically to:*West *West End of London*W postcode area...
between 1975 and 1978. Her family then moved to Farnham Common
Farnham Common
Farnham Common is a village in the parish of Farnham Royal, in Buckinghamshire, England, about 3 miles north of the town of Slough, on the A355 road between Slough and Beaconsfield. It is to the north of the village of Farnham Royal, and adjoins the woodland of Burnham Beeches.Lois Allan invented...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. She attended Farnham Common First School and Farnham Common Middle School before moving to Holy Cross Convent School in Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe and Rickmansworth. Chalfont St Peter is...
and Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
College of Art and Technology. She joined the Young Theatre at Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
where she trained as an actress. Her first TV appearance was as a child in the studio audience of the Saturday morning children's show, Saturday Superstore
Saturday Superstore
Saturday Superstore was a children's television series, broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1987. It was shown on Saturday mornings with presenters including Mike Read, Sarah Greene, Keith Chegwin and John Craven. The show was very similar to its predecessor Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.A regular spot on...
, on which her father was appearing as a guest.
She began her television career as a runner at Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
and researcher on BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
. She worked as a researcher for quiz shows for two years. Her presenting jobs have included hosting The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
and The Priory on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Saturday morning children's programme Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking was a BBC Saturday morning children's magazine programme, running from 1993 to 2001. The fourth in a succession of Saturday morning shows, it was the replacement for Going Live!, and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, comedy, competitions and the showing of...
and the pre-school programme Playdays
Playdays
Playdays was a children's television programme from the United Kingdom. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC , and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme...
. Between 1996 and 1998, she was a regular presenter on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, usually alternating with fellow presenters and DJs Jayne Middlemiss
Jayne Middlemiss
Jayne Middlemiss is a London-based British television and radio presenter, originally from Northumberland. She began presenting music television shows such as The O-Zone and Top of the Pops in the mid '90s, before presenting a variety of other television and radio shows, including on BBC 6 Music...
and Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
. The three only ever presented together once, on Christmas Day 1997.
Between 1999 and 2001, she was a co-host with Jamie Theakston
Jamie Theakston
Jamie Theakston is an English television and radio presenter, producer and actor.-Education:...
on the Wednesday night chat/music show The Priory, which was commissioned by Chris Evans's then production company Ginger Productions
Ginger Productions
Ginger Productions, alongside STV Productions, is part of the network production arm of STV Group plc. Based in Waterhouse Square in London, the company's output focuses on Entertainment and Factual Entertainment programming...
. Despite initial strong ratings, the show failed to capitalise on this despite the demise of TFI Friday
TFI Friday
TFI Friday is an entertainment show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000. The show produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first 5 series. The final series was hosted by a number of Guest Presenters. It was broadcast on...
(also a Ginger production) and figures slowly dropped. A fourth series was never commissioned. Despite the show's relative failure, fans of the former UK Play spoof interviews show Rock Profile
Rock Profile
Rock Profile is a British television comedy show written by and starring comedy partnership Matt Lucas and David Walliams, both now widely known for the sketch show Little Britain. Rock Profile first appeared on the channel UK Play in 1999, before moving to BBC Two in 2000...
, often recall the creators and future stars of Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
, Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
's, appearance on the show as Danny and Noel from Hear'Say
Hear'Say
Hear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...
, in which they constantly sang "Monday, Monday
Monday, Monday
"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by The Mamas & the Papas for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. It was the group's only number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100....
" after Theakston asked them a question. As Theakston was the interviewer on Rock Profile, he as a result reprised his role from that show.
Ball co-hosted the 2002 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
with Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
, following which motherhood meant that she took less TV work.
In 2005, after co-hosting the BBC reality show Strictly Dance Fever
Strictly Dance Fever
Strictly Dance Fever is a British television programme, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday evenings. It was an amateur dance talent competition, hosted by Graham Norton, which ran during Spring 2005 and Spring 2006. It was, in many ways, similar to the BBC's popular Strictly Come Dancing, a celebrity...
, Ball became a contestant on series 3 of its sister show Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Ian Waite
Ian Waite
Ian Waite is a professional Latin-American dancer, teacher and choreographer.-Biography:Waite was born in Reading, UK. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former Latin American champion put him through a rigorous medallist regime...
. Ball and Waite were ranked in third place; they also scored 38/40 (including two tens) for three dances in the series and one in the Christmas special.
At the end of 2006, Ball co-hosted ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Extinct
Extinct (TV series)
Extinct is a British television series that aired on ITV in 2006. It features eight celebrities highlighting the plight of some of the world's most endangered species and was presented by Zoë Ball and Sir Trevor McDonald....
, with Sir Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
.
In January 2007, she presented the second series of ITV1's Soapstar Superstar
Soapstar Superstar
Soapstar Superstar was a reality singing competition produced by Granada Television which first aired on British television station ITV in 2006. In the competition, ten soap opera actors perform in front of a celebrity panel, which included Cilla Black, Billy Sammeth and Chris Cowey...
, taking over from Fern Britton
Fern Britton
Fern Britton is an English television presenter, known as the former main co-presenter on the ITV magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...
and Ben Shephard
Ben Shephard
Benjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.-Personal life:...
, who hosted the first series. In March 2007, she hosted the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
talent search Grease Is the Word
Grease Is the Word
Grease Is the Word was the UK version of NBCs Grease: You're the One that I Want!. It aired during Spring/Summer 2007, and was produced by Syco TV ....
.
She and Theakston presented Channel 5's TV quiz series Britain's Best Brain
Britain's Best Brain
Britain's Best Brain is a television programme running in the United Kingdom on Channel 5 and saw ordinary members of the public undertake various tasks, all scientifically designed to test different parts of the brain. The show ran every Wednesday and was aired from 28 October to 16 December 2009...
in 2009.
Radio career
Although known primarily for her TV work, Ball first became a major British celebrity in radio, after she was recruited to co-host the BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
breakfast show in October 1997 with Kevin Greening
Kevin Greening
Kevin Greening was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show with Zoe Ball from 1997 to 1998.-Early career:...
. She eventually graduated to become the sole host – the first female DJ to do so. At this time, her hard-drinking, hard-partying antics contributed to the identification of the so-called "ladette culture
Lad culture
Lad culture is a subculture commonly associated with Britpop music of the 1990s."The image of the 'lad' or 'new lad' arose in the early 1990s as a generally middle-class figure espousing attitudes conventionally attributed to the working classes"...
" of the late 1990s. She later notoriously re-created the naked pose on a backturned chair made famous by Christine Keeler
Christine Keeler
Christine Margaret Keeler is an English former model and showgirl. Her involvement with a British government minister discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what is known as the Profumo Affair....
when doing an interview and spread with SKY
SKY magazine
Sky Magazine was a UK magazine that started in the late 1980s and ceased publication in 2001. It was an entertainment magazine dealing mainly in celebrities featured in film, television and music. It should not be confused with the Sky magazine sent free to subscribers to British Sky Broadcasting...
magazine.
Ball left BBC Radio 1 in March 2000 to bring up a family. Her final breakfast show was on 30 March 2000, and she was succeeded by Sara Cox
Sara Cox
Sara Cox , known as "Coxy", is an English TV presenter and radio DJ, most well known for presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 between 2000 and 2003...
.
Though regarded as professional, Ball twice received a BBC warning for swearing on the radio – first when she used the word "bastard" while being interviewed by Chris Evans during his stint on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show (she was publicising her appointment to The Big Breakfast at the time); then, as host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show, for using the expression "fucking brilliant" to describe a night out she had.
She returned to radio in mid-2002 when she joined London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
rock station XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, where she presented the weekday drivetime show until December 2003 and then in January 2004 took over a Friday evening music show for the station. She also stood in for Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
while he filmed the second series of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. She left XFM at the end of 2004.
In September 2007, she celebrated 40 years of Radio 1 by hosting a show with Sara Cox.
Since 2006, she has provided relief presenting duties for BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, fronting specialist documentaries, sitting in for Dermot O'Leary
Dermot O'Leary
Dermot O'Leary is an English television and radio presenter. He established himself as a presenter of Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4 before moving on to The X Factor on ITV. O'Leary has also presented on the BBC and has his own radio show on BBC Radio 2...
for three weeks in February 2006 and co-presenting, along with Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
, the hastily-conceived replacement for Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
' Saturday morning show, in the wake of Ross' suspension due to Sachsgate in 2008.
From 2009, as well as Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo is an English radio presenter who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981. As of January 2010, Mayo is presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2 and, with Mark Kermode, presenter of Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews on BBC Radio 5 Live.In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "radio...
, Ball has been considered one of the main relief presenters for Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...
's weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2. She also began hosting the Saturday breakfast show from 6:00 am to 8:00 am on the network from 6 June 2009 as part of a shake up of weekend programming at Radio 2. She is back on Radio 2 from her maternity leave.
Personal life
While at BBC Radio 1, Ball began a relationship with DJ and musician Norman Cook (also known as Fatboy Slim). The couple married at Babington HouseBabington House
Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, EnglandConverted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho House Ltd...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
in August 1999. In 2003, the couple split up when Ball revealed that she had an affair with close friend of Cook and fellow DJ, Dan Peppe
Dan Peppe
Dan Peppe is a British DJ and record producer, also known for his affair with Fatboy Slim's wife Zoë Ball in 2003. Peppe lives in London's Islington. Peppe has a daughter with a Brazilian model....
. They later patched up their relationship.
The couple have a son, Woody (born 15 December 2000), and daughter Nelly May Lois Ball (born 14 January 2010). They live in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
.