Zoe Ball has recalled being made to wear skimpy outfits and being ‘conditioned’ to think when she first started out in presenting.
The star, 54, was previously one of the BBC‘s most highest paid presenters before quitting her Radio 2 breakfast show last year.
It followed the death of her mother Julia following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
These days Zoe enjoys a slower pace of life and has turned her attention to podcasting, co-hosting the BBC’s Dig It with Jo Whiley.
Zoe has now reflected on her early days in the media and how it ‘wasn’t an option’ to say no to ‘uncomfortable’ requests by bosses.
Speaking to The Times, she recalled: ‘It’s only years later you look back and think, goodness me.
Zoe Ball has recalled being made to wear skimpy outfits and being ‘conditioned’ to think when she first started out in presenting (pictured in 1999)
Zoe Ball leaving her final morning radio show on BBC Radio 2 at BBC Broadcasting house on December 20, 2024
‘It was actually Sophie Ellis-Bextor [in her memoir] that undid me, reading some of the stuff she went through and how what she could see of women in the media was Sara [Cox] and I.
‘I remember going to a shoot and they’d be like, “Straddle a chair”.
‘There’d be these racks of tiny clothes, so it was quite uncomfortable, but it was, like, I’ve got to do it. There was no saying, “I don’t think she wants to do it,” you’re conditioned to think, that’s just how it is.
‘But now I’m thinking about my daughter; if someone asked her to do that or said something about her, I would be, like …’
Zoe married DJ Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) in 1999 and welcomed a son Woody, 24, and a daughter Nelly, 15, together before they went their separate ways in 2016, though they remain close friends.
The host began her career on pre-school series Playdays, before co-presenting the BBC’s Saturday morning show Live & Kicking with Jamie Theakston in the mid-90s.
In the same decade, Zoe was also a regular presenter for Top Of The Pops, while one of her biggest jobs was The Big Breakfast on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, Zoe’s son Woody revealed earlier this year how she and her ex-husband Norman have been ‘gardening’ and ‘doing puzzles’ and working in a local cafe.
Zoe scaled back her work commitments following the death of her mother Julia last year to pancreatic cancer (pictured in May 2025)
These days Zoe enjoys a slower pace of life and has turned her attention to podcasting, co-hosting the BBC’s Dig It with Jo Whiley
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, Woody gave an insight into how she has been spending her time since quitting her breakfast show.
He admitted it has been ‘funny’ watching his ‘crazy party’ parents Zoe and Norman ditching wild nights out for more calm hobbies.
‘In the last five years, it’s been funny watching my parents take up gardening both of them,’ he shared.
‘These crazy party people I grew up with are now gardening, making puzzles and working in the local café.
‘It’s very funny to see that transitional period, just as I’m kind of leaving the nest and now at the start of something big for me in music.’
Fatboy Slim has owned the Big Beach Cafe in Hove, East Sussex since 2013.
Zoe and Norman were known for their hard-partying ways back in the 2000s and have both since spoken about their battles with alcohol.
Zoe and Norman tied the knot in 1999 and welcomed a son Woody, 24, and a daughter Nelly, 15, together before they went their separate ways in 2016, though they remain close friends
Zoe and Norman were known for their hard-partying ways back in the 2000s and have since spoken about their battles with alcohol. They have remained close friends since their split
Woody said he barely saw his mother when she was working because she would wake up early for her radio show, while he would start his work as a DJ at midnight.
He shared: ‘I was just gassed [when she stepped down] because my schedule and her schedules are the opposite! I go to work at between 12am or 3am and my mum gets up to work at 4am, so I’m still awake from the day before when she’s waking up.
‘There were a lot of times when we were on literally the opposite schedules, so to have a bit more togetherness and be able to see each other more is nice.
‘I think it’s going to bring everyone together more, so I’m really excited. She’s worked so hard for it and there was a lot of stress with the job and everything, so I think it’s a great time for her to see her friends and family more.’
