Zoe Ball left the BBC after suffering panic attacks triggered by the death of her mother.
The former Radio 2 breakfast show presenter told how grief following the death of her mother Julia in April 2024 left her with "paralysing anxiety" that made it "difficult to work" or "get through a programme".
Ball, 55, took over from Chris Evans on the morning show in January 2019. Her mother died five years later after being diagnosed with cancer. The radio host then left the morning show in December of that year and hosted a Saturday afternoon slot, which she left a few months later.
Since her departure, Radio 2 has faced declining listenership, as well as the departure of other high-profile presenters such as Ken Bruce and the late Steve Wright.
BBC Radio 2's audience has declined since Scott Mills replaced Ball on the morning show. — James Manning/PA
In an interview with mental health expert Owen O'Kane on his podcast, Dig It, Ball said, "I've always been very calm and easygoing about everyday things, but I started having panic attacks. I think it was because of the grief, because that's when it started.".
«"Then perimenopause hit, and I developed debilitating anxiety, to the point where I had trouble working or performing on stage.".
The presenter is known to have left his job on the morning show to "focus on his family.".
Announcing her mother's death on X, Ball said, "Rest in peace, dear Mom. Thank you for teaching us to love unconditionally, to always show courage and compassion, and for teaching us that even in the darkest days, laughter is the greatest gift. We are inconsolable without you, but we will hold each other tight.".
Before leaving the morning show, Ball's salary of £950,000 made her one of the highest-paid female presenters at the BBC. Since leaving Radio 2, she has focused on her increasingly popular podcast.
Ball also auditioned to host Strictly Come Dancing amid reports that she was in the running to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. She competed on the show in 2005 and hosted the spin-off It Takes Two, but ultimately didn't get the job.
Winkleman and Daly will be replaced by Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, who joined Strictly as a professional dancer in 2018.
Since Ball's departure, Radio 2's breakfast show has struggled, losing more than 600,000 listeners since Scott Mills took over, according to figures published last year by industry body Rajar.
In March, Mills was dismissed from the BBC after being accused of "serious sexual offences" against a teenager under 16 between 1997 and 2000. He was investigated by the Metropolitan Police from 2016 to 2019, but prosecutors ultimately decided there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
The BBC admitted it knew about the investigation as early as 2017, but only fired him after "new information" emerged.
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