Zoe Ball says she has to remember to 'breathe' as she confesses to 'new girl nerves' during first Greatest Hits Radio show after quitting her £520k-a-year BBC job

Zoe Ball told Greatest Hits Radio listeners she is battling nerves as she made her return to the airwaves on Monday after quitting BBC Radio 2. 

The star is making her grand return to radio after leaving Radio 2 at the height of her success, quitting the coveted Breakfast Show in 2024 and her Saturday afternoon show a year later.

Zoe, 55, is hosting the weekday show 1pm to 4pm on Greatest Hits. It will see her reunite with former BBC colleagues, Ken Bruce, 75, who hosts the mid-morning show before her slot, and Simon Mayo, 67, who follows her show with Drivetime. 

Launching her afternoon show on Monday, Zoe admitted that her 'tongue is stuck in my teeth with nerves,' before adding that she was following advice and 'breathing, I'm breathing.' 

She began her show by telling listeners: 'I can tell you excitement levels are currently peaking' before thanking Ken Bruce, gushing that she was 'so thrilled to be his radio neighbour once again,' whilst also paying tribute to 'the mighty Simon Mayo. Adore him.'

Cementing her new era on commercial radio, Zoe also plugged her show's partnership with BT before telling fans 'I promise I am going to look after you all.'

Her first track was The Kiki Dee Band's 1974 hit I've Got The Music In Me, paying tribute to the 'true powerhouse women' behind the song.

Promising that 'we have lots of new things to introduce you' Zoe said she would be continuing the station's 'time honoured tradition' for the first hour and playing lunchtime anthems, declaring 'boy they really do play the best tunes around here don't they?'

Zoe teased her return to radio with an excited Instagram post on Sunday. Sharing a snap of Greatest Hits Radio branded microphones, she told her followers: 'a new adventure begins' before thanking her new team and gushing 'I'm a lucky lass.'

The post, which she added the hashtags 'new school, new girl and all the feels' to, was met with plenty of encouragement from her celeb pals. 

Sam Vaughan, the husband of her former BBC colleague Scott Mills, was among those to comment, posting a heart emoji.    

Last year Zoe quit her £520k-a-year Radio 2 show amid a time of personal turmoil.

She later explained how she was struggling to cope with her grief after losing her mum to cancer in 2024, which combined with 'crippling' anxiety from perimenopause made her unable to make it through some of her shows.

The decision to step back from her Radio 2 afternoon show allowed her time to properly grieve the death of her mother, as well as spend time with daughter Nelly, who was going through her GCSEs at the time of her BBC exit. 

Zoe told friend Jo Whiley on the pair's Dig It Podcast: 'Well, you know how it's been. I lost mum and I really was like, I want to take some time and I want to go and be there for my girl because I've always worked. I've never been around.

'After losing mum, I thought, hang on, no, stop, take some time, be there for your girl during her GCSEs.'

But Nelly is now 16 and recently moved out of Zoe's home to live with her dad, the DJ Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, gently forcing Zoe to reconsider her priorities.

'I've sort of said on the pod, actually, I've been around and she's a bit like, "mum, what are you still doing here?" And she's finished her GCSEs now and she's loving her freedom,' she mused. 

'Anyway, this really amazing opportunity came up,' Zoe continued, adding that her afternoon show fits in perfectly with home life.

'It's a lovely shift, Jo. It's one till four, which is great because it means I get to be mum in the morning and mum in the evening if I need to. I can be around if she needs me,' she gushed.

'And I'm following my wonderful friend Ken Bruce and then I'm going into my mate Simon Mayo because I used to do breakfast with Simon Mayo before.

'So I've got friends either side and I will be playing great music from the 70s, 80s and 90s at Greatest Hits Radio. They are a lovely team. They're such a brilliant team.'

'There's a load of old mates there and they've been really welcoming, but it was just too good to turn down. I was like, actually, this is great. So I'm going to be back behind the mic five days a week.'