Zoe Ball broke down on her podcast after a listener told the story of her mother’s death – two years after the presenter’s own mum’s tragic passing.
On Zoe’s podcast Dig It, which she hosts alongside Jo Whiley, a caller named Di revealed that her 90-year-old mother had requested to spend Christmas alone due to exhaustion, before she slipped and passed away in her garden.
Both presenters, aged 55 and 60 respectively, stuggled to contain their emotions during Di’s story, which comes in the wake of Zoe’s confession that she suffered an emotional breakdown after her mother Julia’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2024.
In her emotional response to Di, Zoe said: ‘Oh Di, what a gorgeous message. Everything you just shared there… your mum sounds like an amazing lady.’
After Julia’s death in April 2024, Zoe was forced to take time off her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show due to the breakdown. She revealed in September: ‘I couldn’t work. I was on the floor in the kitchen. I couldn’t, I couldn’t move.’
Zoe Ball broke down on her podcast after a listener told the story of her mother’s death – two years after the presenter’s own mum’s tragic passing
Both presenters, aged 55 and 60 respectively, stuggled to contain their emotions during Di’s story, which comes in the wake of Zoe’s confession that she suffered an emotional breakdown after her mother Julia’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2024 (Zoe and Julia pictured)
Jo, 60, joined Zoe in stuggling to contain her emotions during Di’s story
On the new episode of Dig It, which aims to ‘lift the lid on the messy, everyday reality of trying to live well’, Di gave the heartbreaking insight into the story, saying: ‘I think the tiredness was all a sign that her body had started to fail her…
‘And on New Year’s Eve, she went out, she put her coat on, she went out to feed the birds and just slipped away in her garden…
‘Her garden was her pride and joy, she loved all the wildlife that entered it, so it really was, for her, the perfect Christmas and the perfect death’.
Showing her empathy, Zoe told Di: ‘Those memories of them and hearing you say how much you miss her five years later, yeah, I’m with you there, totally…
‘We miss our lost loves don’t we. Thank goodness for having them in our lives and everything they bring into our lives.’
In September, Zoe shed light on her own plight, revealing: ‘I had a proper emotional breakdown, you know, I haven’t really talked about it actually. But it was, yeah, it was brutal.
‘I had an amazing doctor who turned up at my door with coffee and bagels and said, “so, we need to get you some help”, and he was wonderful.’
Zoe previously avoided discussing her mother’s passing publicly. As she continues to grieve, she admitted last year that she found Julia’s first birthday since her passing extremely difficult.
Zoe appeared overwhelmed during the chat, where she was left reaching for tissues
Showing her empathy, Zoe told Di: ‘Those memories of them and hearing you say how much you miss her five years later, yeah, I’m with you there, totally’
She posted a tribute to Julia following her 2024 passing
She explained: ‘It’s a year and a bit since we lost Mum, and I found her birthday this year, the toughest, the toughest, you know, a whole year later.
‘That was brutal. It was a week of absolute weeping, I still get quite emotional sort of talking about mum, even now.
‘But I think leaning on your loved ones is the best thing and also just not being afraid to weep. There’s a lot of crying, there’s a lot of pain that has to come out.’
Announcing her mother’s death on social media, Zoe wrote: ‘Sleep tight dear Mama.
‘Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy, and how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts. We are bereft without you but will hold so tight to each other.’
Before Zoe left her breakfast show on Radio 2 she was one of the highest-paid female presenters at the BBC, taking home £950,000.
Zoe shared a sweet childhood image in her tribute to her mum following her passing
