How Zoe Ball leaned on ex husband Fatboy Slim before quitting BBC Radio 2

As Zoe Ball starts the adjacent section of her vocation beyond the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, she'll person ex hubby Norman Cook connected manus to connection support, with the brace understood to person grown person successful caller times

Zoe Ball has shocked listeners by announcing her departure from the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, but there's 1 precise important idiosyncratic successful her beingness who she tin number connected - her ex hubby Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim.

One of the astir iconic 'it couples' of the '90s, Zoe and Norman met successful Ibiza successful the summertime of 1997, and rapidly bonded implicit their shared passionateness for creation music. They joined conscionable earlier the crook of the millenium, and welcomed 2 children, Woody, 23, and Nelly, 14.

By 2016, their emotion communicative reached its last chapter, with the brace amicably announcing they'd 'come to the extremity of [their] rainbow'. This wasn't the extremity of their relationship however, and it's understood that Norman, 61, has been determination for Zoe during what has been a painfully hard year.

Back successful March, Zoe shared that she would beryllium taking clip disconnected to attraction for her parent Julia Peckham, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sadly, Julia passed distant successful May, with Zoe penning a heartbreaking tribute. Sharing details of her mother's pugnacious yet 'perfect' ceremonial with societal media followers, Zoe wrote: "Yesterday we said goodbye to our beloved Mama, Granny J. It was the cleanable time and she would person loved it, everlastingly successful our hearts Mama, convey you for your magic & love. Missing you truthful overmuch but holding choky to each other."

In August, Zoe stepped backmost from her greeting presenting duties, which she returned to successful precocious September and Norman was determination for her astatine her clip of grief. Ahead of her return, Zoe was spotted for the archetypal clip during her BBC Radio 2 permission alongside Norman, with the erstwhile mates seen laughing unneurotic with a radical of radical extracurricular a Hove café.

Zoe and Norman are reportedly "spending much clip unneurotic than ever" arsenic the presenter grieves, with a person from Hove telling the Daily Mail: "They ever look to beryllium together." Another pal told the work that the exes person been attending their lad Woody's DJ gigs together.

The brace are understood to reunite for household occasions arsenic good arsenic Sunday lunches with their kids, having maintained a affable co-parenting relationship. In different important move, Zoe precocious moved from her £2million state location to a Brighton townhouse successful Brighton, adjacent to wherever Norman lives.

Zoe and Norman person antecedently been praised for their peaceful attack to co-parenting, but, by Zoe's ain admission, it hasn't ever been easy. Hailing Norman arsenic 'the champion dad' during a candid 2020 interrogation with Red magazine, mum-of-two Zoe confessed: "He [Norman Cook] is specified a bully person and a bully guy. It's not ever been casual and it's taken time. He's been done a lot, I've been done a lot, but present we're successful a large spot arsenic parents together.”

She continued: "We bash sometimes look astatine them [their childen] and go, 'Wow, contempt what we've been through, we made it' due to the fact that they're superb kids."

Nowadays, the stars are adjacent capable to marque cheeky jokes astir their failed marriage. In June 2023, up of Glastonbury, the Praise You hitmaker made an quality connected Zoe's vigor amusement - with fans near successful stitches aft Zoe precise astir forgot his name. Introducing her ex hubby to listeners, vigor fable Zoe said "I present invited to the amusement idiosyncratic you whitethorn cognize from The Housemartins, Pizzaman, Beats International – I astir forgot what you were called then, sorry." To which Norman replied: "And specified things arsenic our marriage." Responding successful a likewise playful tone, Zoe said: "And specified things arsenic our marriage. It is Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook."

In a connection made unrecorded connected aerial this morning, Zoe told loyal listeners that the clip had travel to 'start a caller chapter" aft six years of aboriginal starts, portion confirming she would proceed moving with Radio 2 successful immoderate capableness aft adjusting her alarm clock.

Zoe, "Ok you beauteous bunch, I person immoderate news. After six years of amusive times alongside you each connected the Breakfast Show, I've decided it's clip to measurement distant from the aboriginal alarm telephone and commencement a caller chapter. You cognize I deliberation the world of you each listeners, and it genuinely has been specified a privilege to stock the mornings with you, to spell done life's small ups and downs, we got done the lockdown together, didn't we?

"We've shared a hellhole of a lot, the bully times, the pugnacious times, there's been a batch of laughter. And I americium going to miss you cats. I'm going to miss my astonishing Prod Squad who I adore. Already missing Mike, I'm going to miss Tina and Richie. They've each go similar household to me, similar you lot. But I won't miss the 4am alarm call, if I'm wholly honest. So my past Breakfast amusement volition beryllium with you connected the 20th of December and past its precocious kicks each the mode to Christmas, gang.

"I'm not going to beryllium a stranger, I'm staying successful the Radio 2 unit and household due to the fact that it's an astonishing household - arsenic we saw past week with Paddy's fantastic Children successful Need challenge- and I'll person much quality connected that successful the New Year. I conscionable privation to accidental I'm truthful grateful to my unthinkable brag ladies, to Helen and Laura and Lorna and Fiona, they person ever been truthful supportive of maine particularly successful this occupation and peculiarly this year, truthful convey you ladies.

"Now of people it leaves america with a large question, who is going to aftermath you up successful the mornings? Well the bully quality is you don't person to hold precise agelong to find out. I americium going to uncover the marque caller big of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show connected this amusement this greeting . But for now, cognize I emotion you each to bits and this opus from Supertramp seemed similar a bully 1 to play.”

A trailblazer successful the tract of broadcasting, Zoe became the archetypal pistillate big of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show successful 1998, holding the station until 2000. After joining Radio 2 successful 2006, Zoe made past successful January 2019, by becoming the archetypal pistillate to contiguous the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, taking implicit the station antecedently held by Chris Evans. She volition present beryllium stepping down aft December 20.

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