Zoe Ball has admitted questioning why she bothered giving up her Radio 2 Breakfast Show to spend time with daughter Nelly, when the teen is out pals and never home.
The broadcaster, 54, who shares Nelly, 15, and Woody, 24, with ex-husband Norman Cook, stepped down from the programme and it’s £950,000 salary in December after six years to ‘focus on family’ but now says she wonders if it was worth it.
Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe, Zoe said: ‘I gave up work because she’s going to do her GCSEs but she’s never there. She’s out with her mates. I’m like, “I’ve given up work for you”‘.
‘I am like “What did I give up for?” Yeah, I have thought about it because I’ve been through this a bit with Woody, but I had the joy of having Nell still around. I don’t know’.
Zoe went on to reveal that her decision to quit the show was not only to support her daughter through exams, but also navigate the difficulties of being a teenager.
She said: ‘For girls, 15 is booze and boys. It’s a nightmare. It’s an absolute mind-fielder.
Zoe Ball, 54, has admitted questioning why she bothered giving up her Radio 2 Breakfast Show to spend time with daughter Nelly, when the teen is out with pals and never home
The broadcaster stepped down from the programme in December after six years to ‘focus on family’ but now says she wonders if it was worth it (pictured with Nelly 2024)
Zoe shares and Nelly, 15, and son Woody, 25, with ex0husband Norman Cook with whom she split in 2016 after 18 years of marriage but they have remained close friends and co parents
‘I’ve made sure that I’m at shows and matches and stuff like that. But it’s only since giving up the breakfast show that I now do the school run in the morning and I love it’.
Zoe, who now hosts a weekly Radio 2 show, added: ‘You know, she’s 15, so she doesn’t really want to talk. She doesn’t really want you to drive her to school, if anything’.
Son Woody has said how his parents have been ‘gardening’, ‘doing puzzles’ and working in a local café since she quit her job on the airwaves.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail he gave an insight into how she has been spending her time since quitting her job, focusing on ‘gardening’ and ‘doing puzzles’.
He admitted it has been ‘funny’ watching his ‘crazy party’ parents Zoe and Norman Cook, also known as Fatboy Slim, 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,’ Woody – who was promoting his Specsavers partnership – 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.’
Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe, Zoe said: ‘I gave up work because she’s going to do her GCSEs but she’s never there
Zoe went on to reveal that her decision to quit the show was not only to support her daughter through exams, but also navigate the difficulties of being a teenager
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.
They tied the knot in 1999 and welcomed their son Woody and a daughter Nelly, 15, together before they split up in 2016, though they remain very close friends.
Woody also addressed his mother’s departure from her radio show, saying he is thrilled about her decision because he can now spend more time with her.
After six years at the helm, Zoe handed her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show over to Scott Mills after stepping down to ‘focus on family’ just months after her mother Julia’s death in April.
‘It’s lovely seeing my mum more, because obviously she’s had quite a weird schedule for the last few years,’ the Celebrity Gogglebox star, who lives in Bristol, said.
‘I’m actually gonna go spend some time with [my family] in Brighton soon to continue working on music because I might get more done not being with my mates Bristol.’
Son Woody has said how his parents have been ‘gardening’, ‘doing puzzles’ and working in a local café since she quit her job on the airwaves (pictured 2015)
After six years at the helm, Zoe handed her breakfast show over to Scott Mills after stepping down to ‘focus on family’ just months after her mother Julia’s death in April (pictured 2010)
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.’
