Connect with us

Published

on

Zoe Ball is leaving her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after six years.

The 53-year-old, who recently lost her mother to cancer, will present her last show on Friday, 20 December.

BBC Radio 2 presenters Zoe Ball and Scott Mills leaving Wogan House.
Pic: PA
Image:
Ball leaves Wogan House with her replacement, Scott Mills. Pic: PA

She said she was leaving to focus on family, but will remain part of the Radio 2 team and will give further details next year.

Announcing the news on her Tuesday show, she said: “After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.

“You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we?

“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”

Scott Mills will replace Ball on the breakfast show following her departure next month.

More on Bbc

“Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1,” he said.

“She’s done an incredible job on this show over the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.”

Hugging outside the BBC building on the day of the announcement, Ball said she was “really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it”.

Ball was the first female host of both the BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows, starting at the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1998, and taking over her current Radio 2 role from Chris Evans in 2020 after he left the show.

She took a break from hosting her show over the summer, returning in September.

Ahead of her stint in radio, Ball – who is the daughter of children’s presenter Johnny Ball – co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine show Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.

She has two children, Woody and Nelly, with her ex-husband, DJ and musician Norman Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim.

Ball said in her announcement her last show towards the end of December will be “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.

“While I’m stepping away from the Breakfast Show, I’m not disappearing entirely – I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the New Year,” she added.

“I’m excited to embrace my next chapter, including being a mum in the mornings, and I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!”

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “Zoe has woken up the nation on Radio 2 with incredible warmth, wit and so much joy since January 2019, and I’d like to thank her for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first. I’m thrilled that she’ll remain an important part of the Radio 2 family.”

Mills, 51, got his first presenting role aged just 16 for a local station in Hampshire, and went on to present in Bristol and Manchester, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998.

He’s previously worked as a cover presenter on Radio 2, but this is his first permanent role on the station.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Rolex stolen from Keanu Reeves’s LA home found in Chile, according to police

Published

on

By

Rolex stolen from Keanu Reeves's LA home found in Chile, according to police

A Rolex stolen from John Wick star Keanu Reeves has been found in Chile, according to police in the South American country.

The watch, which is believed to have been taken from the Hollywood actor in Los Angeles in December 2023, was discovered after an arrest linked to crimes in the nation’s capital Santiago.

Pictures posted online by the Investigations Police of Chile show an engraving on the back of the Rolex Submariner, which says: “The John Wick Five. Keanu Thank You JW4 2021.”

Rolex Submariners were reportedly given to members of the team that filmed the fourth instalment of the franchise, including stuntmen.

Police said jewels, valuable watches and other items were seized including “a watch from a famous film actor, victim of a robbery in Los Angeles (USA) in December 2023”.

A police official confirmed the Rolex belonged to The Matrix star Reeves in a television interview with Chilean broadcaster TVN and said they were working with Los Angeles police to get it back to him.

Los Angeles police told Sky News’ US bureau that the burglary investigation is ongoing and that there were no further updates.

More on Chile

Reeves’s representatives have also been contacted for comment.

Read more from Sky News:
Jolie and Pitt agree divorce deal
Veteran radio star dies aged 79

His Los Angeles home was targeted by masked burglars in December 2023 while he was not there, according to TMZ.

The celebrity news site reported a firearm was taken, but it was not clear if anything else was stolen in the raid.

In February 2023, Reeves was granted a restraining order against a man who allegedly made a number of unwanted visits to his home – including going to sleep in his back garden.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reach divorce settlement after eight years

Published

on

By

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reach divorce settlement after eight years

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a settlement after eight years in one of the longest and most bitter divorces in Hollywood history.

In a statement, Jolie’s attorney James Simon said: “More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt.

“She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family.

“This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago.

“Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”

No court documents have been filed yet, and a judge will need to sign off on the agreement.

Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were one of Hollywood’s most prominent couples for 12 years. The two Oscar winners have six children together.

The Maleficent star filed for divorce in 2016, following a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt was abusive towards her and their children.

In 2019, a judge declared them divorced and single, but the settling of their assets and child custody had to be decided separately.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Liam Payne: Five charged in connection with death of One Direction star, as judge details his final moments

Published

on

By

Liam Payne: Five charged in connection with death of One Direction star, as judge details his final moments

Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina.

Three people have been charged with negligent homicide and two have been charged with supplying drugs, the Argentinian Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

The 31-year-old pop star died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October.

Negligent homicide – similar to gross negligent manslaughter in the UK – carries a sentence of one to five years, while supplying drugs carries a sentence of up to 15 years.

Roger Nores, described as a “representative” of Payne, was one of those charged with negligent homicide, alongside hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi.

A hotel employee, Ezequiel Pereyra, and waiter, Braian Paiz, have been charged with supplying drugs on two occasions.

All five have been summoned to appear in court.

More on Argentina

A statement from the judge and public prosecutor today said Payne had been “demanding” drugs and alcohol during his stay at the hotel.

On the 16 December, Payne was in the hotel lobby and “unable to stand” due to the “consumption of various substances”, the court document said.

The receptionist and two others “dragged” the singer to his room, and the manager allowed this to happen “at least by omission”.

Given Payne’s “altered” consciousness and the access to a balcony from the room, the “proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived”, according to the judge.

They also accused Payne’s representative, Nores, of leaving Payne on his own in the hotel in a “state of vulnerability”, despite knowing about Payne’s previous addiction problems and that the fact Nores could “not trust that the rest of the hotel staff would act appropriately”.

The judge described Payne’s death as “foreseeable”.

The prosecutor’s office previously ruled out self-harm as a factor in the One Direction star’s death, and said he did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall, meaning it can be inferred he may have fallen “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness”.

The new document today reiterated the hypothesis that Payne had “tried to leave the room through the balcony and thus fell”.

The results of toxicology tests revealed that before his death, Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.

According to the post-mortem examination, Payne died from “multiple” injuries and internal and external bleeding.

Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn around broken objects and furniture in Payne’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.

Continue Reading

Trending