Zoe Ball to leave BBC Radio 2 breakfast show

Zoe Ball has announced she is stepping down as presenter of Radio 2’s Breakfast Show in December.

Ball said: “After six incredible years on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it’s time for me to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family.”

She will remain on the station, and said more news on what that would involve would be announced in the new year.

Her last show will be on Friday 20 December, “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans,” she told listeners on her Tuesday show.

She added that she would reveal her replacement host later in the programme.

Telling her listeners about her decision, she said: I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.

“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”

She added she would also miss her colleagues, saying they were “like family to me”.