Zoe Ball‘s new bachelorette pad is so close to the idyllic Hove seafront that she’s probably lulled to sleep each night by the sound of waves lapping on the beach.
For her, it is the dream. She loves little more than mooching around the East Sussex seaside town with her children Woody, 25, and Nelly, 15, where she’s simply regarded as another local.
She is also back living close to their dad, her ex-husband Norman Cook (Fat Boy Slim), to whom she has remained close and who is a huge support to her.
Those who know the star say that she delights in her new life which she has perfectly pieced together after selling her £2million home in the village of Ditchling, ten miles away, last year.
And that is the reason behind her shock announcement at the weekend that she is quitting her Saturday lunchtime show on Radio 2 next weekend after just seven months – and not because she’s been lined-up to step into Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly‘s shoes when they depart Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday.
Zoe stood down from the Radio 2 Breakfast show in November 2024 after taking several weeks off last year to ‘focus on her family’ before joining the Saturday lunchtime slot in May.
When she made her announcement at the end of Saturday’s programme, saying she is handing over to The Voice host Emma Willis, it immediately sparked rumours she’d bagged the top job on the BBC1 flagship show, so much so that bookies suspended betting on a replacement.
But sources close to the 55-year-old tell me the Strictly job is probably ‘the last thing that Zoe needs’.
Pictured: Zoe Ball and dance partner Ian Waite who came third in the 2005 series of Strictly Come Dancing
Zoe Ball (left) stood in for Strictly presenter Claudia Winkelman for a weekend during the 2014 series
They say: ‘Zoe loves her life by the seaside. She has lived the high life and enjoyed all of the trappings of fame, today that is her worst nightmare.
‘For that reason I just don’t know why she would do it. Zoe loves her life in Hove, she is looking to do less and spend more time with her children, not work more.
‘Of course the BBC would probably love her to do it, she’s a pro and she’s loved by the British public. Why on earth would she want to get in the car and go to Elstree [Studios, in Borehamwood, London] every weekend for three months, and also be the most high-profile presenter in the country?’ In many ways, Zoe is an obvious contender for Strictly. She took part in 2005, when she came third with professional partner Ian Waite.
Six years later in 2011 she took the reins of the spin-off programme It Takes Two, replacing Claudia Winkleman, and stayed for a decade.
She also stood in for Claudia for a weekend during the 2014 series. The hunt for a new Strictly host will begin in earnest after Saturday’s finale when influencer George Clarke, former Lioness Karen Carney and West End star Amber Davies battle it out for the Glitter Ball trophy, after Balvinder Sopal, pictured left, was voted off last night.
The EastEnders actress had survived five dance-offs, but the judges chose to save Amber.
This Saturday will also be the last live show for much-loved duo, Tess, 56, and Claudia, 53, who announced in October they were quitting after 11 years of hosting together. A special send-off is planned, including a montage of ‘best bits’, with footage of former host Bruce Forsyth, who died in 2017.
What won’t be obvious to viewers, however, is the amount of hard work that goes into producing Strictly every year – something Zoe is well aware of.
Admittedly, it is very well paid: Tess and Claudia earn around £350,000 for their annual three-and-a-half month stint, but it comes at a cost. They are there at the crack of dawn on Fridays for rehearsals and finish really late,’ says my Strictly insider.
‘Then Saturdays are hard, brutal in fact. It’s the same again but it’s live. They are at the studio until pretty much midnight, Sundays are a write-off.
‘It looks glamorous but it is all-consuming. Someone has really, really got to want to do it. Zoe simply doesn’t seem to be in that place right now.’
Despite this, Zoe has joined runners and riders including Bradley Walsh, Holly Willoughby, Traitors winner Alan Carr and The One Show’s Alex Jones.
The preseneter announced live on air on Saturday that she is quitting her weekend show on BBC Radio 2 after just seven months, with her final broadcast set to take place just days away (pictured 2024)
‘There are meetings taking place,’ says a BBC insider. ‘Of course every executive has their favourites who they think would be the best but the fact is that we are not there yet.’
Zoe has endured some devastating tragedies in recent years, such as the death of her mother, Julia Peckham, in April 2024 from pancreatic cancer.
And in 2017, she was distraught when her boyfriend Billy Yates took his own life.
Since then, say Zoe’s friends, she has learned what matters – and that isn’t fame and fortune.
‘Right now Zoe would rather leave the job to someone else, someone who really wants it,’ says a source. ‘The Glitter Ball was appealing to her back in 2005, but not so much today. Now, Zoe wants a quieter life.’