What Zoe Ball's Radio 2 colleagues really make of her absence from breakfast show

Zoe Ball, 53, has been away from her BBC Radio 2 show for six weeks and some of her colleagues have claimed to have been left in the dark about the reason for her absence

Radio presenter Zoe Ball has been away from her Breakfast Show slot for six weeks and some of the colleagues she sees daily are said to be in the dark about the reason for her absence.

The much-loved broadcaster, 53, last appeared on her BBC Radio 2 show on August 8 and since then, she has been replaced by other presenters including Scott Mills and Gaby Roslin. Zoe is set to return to her breakfast show next Monday, though she is yet to speak out on her return herself.

Little has been said about the reason for Zoe's sudden absence, with one source on Zoe's team telling reporters: "This is all very tricky." While Zoe's son Woody broke his silence on the mystery last night, telling a reporter: "My mum and I like to keep our private lives to ourselves but I will say I have stepped up and spent a lot more time with her recently as she has always been there when I've had tough times. I'm glad to see her smiling."

And in the meantime, her fans have taken to social media to express their concerns for the star, who is the BBC's highest-paid woman with an annual salary of £950,000. Some have speculated that the presenter has been struggling after her mother Julia Peckham suddenly passed away from cancer in April.

Others have said Zoe, who according to the Daily Mail recently moved house after selling her Sussex countryside home which she bought for over £2million in August 2020. She is said to have moved to a townhouse between Brighton and Hove, which is close to where her ex-husband DJ Norman Cook lives. Earlier this week Zoe was seen for the first time since taking her leave from Radio 2 with Norman.

There have also been suggestions that moving home represents a "new start" for Zoe, who split from her model boyfriend Michael Reed last year. A source told the Mail: "Zoe obviously got fed up with life in the country and wanted to move to somewhere a bit more lively."

Zoe's absence has no doubt sparked an outpouring of concern at Radio 2, where she has been a regular voice since 2006.

One of the presenter's colleagues told the Daily Mail that Zoe is one of the hardest working presenters at the station, on air five days a week from 6.30am to 9.30am. They told the Mail: "Zoe's show is like a television show, really. Guests still actually go into the studio rather than have a quick chat on Zoom so she has to be fully present and look the part.

"She is up so early and she has a long journey in. She is up at 3am, and travels into London. You compare that to some of the other BBC employees, they have a couple of shows each week and go home again. We have been very concerned about her and hope that she is OK."

Yesterday, we reported that Zoe was seen with a group of people - including Norman Cook - outside a cafe in Hove, on Sunday. Eyewitnesses say the broadcaster stayed there for just over an hour. Photos show her chatting and laughing with the group before walking along the beachfront.

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