Bonkers! Zoe’s joy as she lands Evans Radio 2 slot
She joked to Evans, who will now be her breakfast show rival again as they once were two decades ago: “Will you leave some of your listeners? I know a lot may go with you.”
She admitted she was “definitely not” expecting to be paid the same as him but insisted: “I have to say that we have discussed fees and I’m very, very happy with what the BBC are paying me. I’m hoping that people will say, ‘That’s fair’.”
The star has known for several weeks she was the BBC’s choice for the job and had doubts about whether she could do it – until her teenage son helped her make up her mind.
She said: “The best person I spoke to, during that time, was my son Woody, who’s nearly 18.
“He wasn’t even alive when I was at Radio 1 doing the Breakfast Show.
“He said, ‘Mum, come on. Don’t even think about it. It’s the coolest thing you can do. Be the first girl on Radio 2 Breakfast. It’s amazing’.
“He looked into my eyes and said, ‘Someone will listen’.”
Her eight-year-old daughter Nelly told her she would be more likely to tune in to Greg James on Radio 1, but assured her: “If he plays a bad record Mummy, I might listen to you to see if you’re alright.”
Speculation has been rife about who would get the plum role, with many listeners preferring Chris Evans and Zoe Ball share a laugh yesterday after she dropped into his studio to celebrate news to see it go to DJ Sara Cox – who stands in for Evans when he is on holiday and will continue to do the same for Zoe.
Aware that she was not everyone’s choice for the job, she said: “I know some people will be saying, ‘We didn’t want her’. But I hope some people will give me a chance.”
She also said she would have to see how it went with continuing to present Strictly Come Dancing’s evening spin-off show It Takes Two, saying: “I’m really hoping I can do both.”
Evans, who recently became a father to twins, told her: “It’s one of the best jobs in this business, as you know. You really light up the radio.”
Bob Shennan, director of BBC Radio and Music, said Zoe would make the “most coveted job in UK radio her very own”.
The star – who was married for 18 years to Norman Cook, DJ and record producer Fatboy Slim – hosts a live Saturday afternoon show on Radio 2 and has stepped in for Evans before.
Earlier this year she made a programme for Sport Relief following the loss of TV cameraman partner Billy Yates, who was found dead at 40.
And last April she posted a photo from a sunshine holiday in Jamaica confirming she was in a new relationship with construction boss Michael Reed.