Overview
- Greatest Hits Radio announced on Tuesday that Zoe Ball will present Zoe Ball In The Afternoon on weekdays from 1pm to 4pm starting Monday 7 September 2026.
- Ball will replace Kate Thornton and her show will sit between former Radio 2 colleagues Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo in Greatest Hits Radio’s daytime line‑up.
- The station launched the hire with a Traitors‑style trailer in which Ball pledged to play music from the 1970s to the 1990s and to keep Ken Bruce’s PopMaster quiz on air daily.
- Ball has said she 'missed it' and framed the move as the right time to begin a new chapter after stepping down from Radio 2, taking time for family and speaking publicly about grief and anxiety following her mother’s death and a recent Strictly hosting disappointment.
- Bauer executives called Ball a natural fit for the station, and her arrival continues a pattern of former BBC Radio 2 presenters joining Greatest Hits Radio, a trend that could shift daytime audiences and intensify competition for established radio listeners.