Zoe Ball to present her final BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Friday

Zoe Ball will present her final edition of BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show on Friday, after six years in the host’s seat.

The 54-year-old announced her departure in November, saying that after “six incredible years” it was “time for me to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family”.

Also last month, Ball revealed that she’d had treatment for a jaw condition called TMJ disorder, which she said gives her “awful headaches” when she wakes up.

She will be replaced by Scott Mills, who will move from his afternoon slot in January.

Ball became the station’s first full-time female breakfast presenter when she took over from Chris Evans in 2019.

She took a six-week break from the show over the summer, after a previous break in the spring following the death of her mother.

Announcing her departure last month, she said she would stay “in the Radio 2 crew”, promising further details in the New Year about what that would involve.

She promised that her final show would take place “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.

Earlier this week on her show, Ball held back tears as Robbie Williams surprised her with a heartfelt message.

“I just want to say thank you for your services so far to the entertainment world, to BBC Radio 2, to all that have gone before you and who will come after you,” Williams said.

“But for you in particular, the transformative thing you do and the kindness you exude is important, and has been important and will be important to people’s lives, so congrats to you.”

The teary-eyed DJ responded: “Robbie, I love you to bits.”

Ball also became the first female host of the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1998, after having co-presented the Saturday morning children’s TV programme Live & Kicking.

Ball’s Radio 2 programme is the most listened to breakfast show in the UK.

But her audience dipped from nine million when she started to 6.28 million this summer, according to industry figures from Rajar.

She was listed as the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female presenter for the 2023/24 period – with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999 – and second overall behind outgoing Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.