Zoe Ball has spoken candidly about the emotional journey she undertook following the death of her mother, Julia, in April 2024. The 55-year-old radio presenter, who left her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show in December 2024, took a temporary break from broadcasting after her mother's passing from advanced pancreatic cancer.
In an interview with The Sunday Times Style Magazine, Ball recalled driving solo to the Isle of Skye for the first time, inspired by her mother who used to sing 'The Skye Boat Song' to her as a child. However, the trip was marred by poor weather, with Ball saying: 'Heartbreakingly it was really low cloud so I didn’t get to see the fantastic views.'
Despite the low visibility, Ball made the most of the journey, driving around the lochs and playing music that reminded her of her mother. She said: 'I drove around the lochs, playing our tunes, and thought about her lots — how wonderful she was — and I talked to her. I still talk to her all the time.'
Ball also revealed that she and her brother Jamie scattered some of their mother's ashes on the Greek island of Crete. The rest of the ashes remain on a shelf in her living room, with Ball contemplating where to scatter them. She recalled her mother's humorous suggestion to 'put me in a bin', but Ball insisted they would not do that, instead taking 'little bits to little places'.
Becoming tearful, Ball admitted: 'Sorry, I get really emotional. I miss her so much.' The presenter also spoke about filming an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? for the BBC, which explored her mother's difficult childhood, including the fact that her grandmother spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Ball said she wished she could have told her mother about what she discovered, adding: 'I really wanted to talk to mum yesterday, and just be like, “Mum, I understand!”'
