BBC Radio 2's Zoe Ball declares 'warfare' on local 'gang' after ditching £2 million home
Zoe Ball has shared her woes about a local "gang" after swapping her lavish £2 million countryside pad for a Brighton and Hove townhouse. In 2024, the BBC Radio 2 presenter bid farewell to her rural Sussex abode in Newick and set up shop in a townhouse, intriguingly right next door to her ex-husband, Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim.
The couple, who tied the knot in 1999 and had two children together, parted ways in 2016 and finalised their divorce in 2020. Since relocating, Zoe seems to taken to gardening but has run into quite the predicament.
According to the Mail, she revealed that she's been locked in "warfare" with a "gang" of foxes, cats, and squirrels that have been making a mess in her garden. Zoe lamented: "I've got this gang of foxes, cats and squirrels that basically s*** in all the borders."
Despite her efforts of using lemon, thyme, and mulch, the tactic backfired.
She elaborated on her struggle: "The squirrels are now digging up their monkey nuts and the bulbs they nicked off me ... this is warfare."
"I'm going to sit at dawn with a pop gun under a blanket aiming at them. They're bold. They come up to me like a little gang of s****y squirrels."
A source previously told the publication that Zoe was seeking a "bit more lively" environment, having grown "fed up with life" in the quieter countryside.
Zoe Ball's exit from the Radio 2 Breakfast Show in 2024, after a six-year stint, was a major talking point, with Scott Mills stepping into her shoes.
Addressing why she quit, she cited that it was time to "step away" from the "very early mornings" and "focus on family." Fast-forward to this year, and Zoe has returned to BBC Radio 2 with a weekend show.
Additionally, Zoe has opened up about battling "really bad social anxiety". She confessed that her role on the Breakfast Show had been a convenient excuse to avoid social gatherings that made her uneasy.
While speaking on her new Dig It podcast, co-hosted by fellow radio star Jo Whiley, she explained that she was "always slightly in the back" of her head, attempting to think of an excuse of "not being able to go" and saying her previous job was a "great excuse".
Without the Breakfast Show as a reason, Zoe says she can no longer plead the need for an early night. She further discussed her discomfort with social situations, particularly her aversion to small talk.
Zoe admitted: "I am really bad at small talk. It makes my skin crawl. I have had to reverse myself out of conversations when I have said something so weird."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
21 minutes ago
- Metro
Rylan Clark shares update on mum Linda in touching tribute after hospital dash
Rylan Clark shared an emotional birthday post for his mum Linda while providing a health update after she was rushed to hospital. Yesterday, the BBC Radio 2 host informed fans he would not be able to host his usual show on the station after Linda was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with a mystery illness. Marking her 73rd birthday, Rylan informed his followers that Linda was now back home and was able to celebrate with her loved ones. Sharing a selection of photos of the duo on Instagram, Rylan wrote: 'Happy Birthday to the best mum. So glad ur home for it. Love you x.' Their celebrity friends flocked to the comment section to send their well-wishes to Linda, with Michelle Visage wishing her the 'happiest birthday.' Ruth Langsford added: 'Happy Birthday @lindaclark 🎉So pleased you made it home. Have a wonderful day.' Cat Deeley, Claire Richards, Ella Henderson, Alexandra Burke, and Rob Rinder all wished Linda a happy birthday. Rylan and Linda captured the nation's hearts in 2019 when they first appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox. The former X Factor contestant regularly shares videos alongside his mum on social media, with Linda finally creating her own account this month to get in on the fun. Posting on Instagram, Rylan informed fans that his mum had been taken ill and he would not be hosting his radio show. 'Mummy Linda isn't well sadly so I won't be hosting the show tomorrow. Thank you to the emergency team at Princess Alexandra Hospital,' he wrote on Instagram at the time. On Saturday, he shared a health update, writing: 'Antibiotics have worked. Letting her home on orals. So she's home for her bday.' 'Cheers everyone for your messages. Means a lot. Off sort wheelie bins x.' In 2023, Linda had a horrific fall while on holiday in Marbella, suffering from a broken arm and leg during her first foreign holiday in 10 years. More Trending The pair were forced to take a break from appearing on Gogglebox while she recovered from the injury. Rylan has also previously opened up about his mother's battle with Crohn's disease, telling the Daily Mail how it had impacted her day-to-day life. Chron's is an incurable, long-term condition that caused inflammation to the gut. 'My mum lost her job because of the disease – it totally dictates her life. When she was diagnosed, it really hit her hard because it wasn't picked up early enough,' he said. 'The earlier you pick it up, the easier it is to control. I grew up with the disease as well because she was ill – it is life-threatening. It's scary.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: All the stars in the Celebrity Gogglebox 2025 cast including TV legends MORE: Gogglebox star reveals surprising addiction they've developed at 67 years old
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Rylan Clark marks mum's birthday as he gives update after hospital dash
BBC Radio 2 star Rylan Clark paid tribute to his mum on her birthday following her hospital dash earlier this week Rylan Clark paid tribute to his mum on her 73rd birthday following her hospital dash on Friday. The popular presenter skipped hosting his Radio 2 show on Saturday as he dashed to be by her side, with the star taking to social media to reveal the "antibiotics have worked" as she recovered from her illness. Thankfully, she was back home in time for her birthday this weekend and Rylan shared a carousel of sweet pictures taken with mum Linda as he captioned the post: "Happy Birthday to the best mum. So glad ur home for it. Love you." The first picture saw the two smiling lovingly at each other as they posed in front of a wall of flowers. He shared a gorgeous snap of her leaning on the kitchen island counter as well as a snap of them shopping at SpaceNK. The star posted snaps from their holidays and multiple outings, all of which had Linda showing off her pearly whites as she spent time with her son. Friends and fans rushed to the comment section to wish her a happy birthday, with Cat Deeley, Fearne Cotton, Rob Riner, Alexandra Burke and more posting messages to her. Ruth Langsford posted: "Happy Birthday @lindaclark. So pleased you made it home. Have a wonderful day." One fan wrote: "So lovely to see the way you look out and after your mum Rylan and such a normal loving and funny relationship she should and I am sure she is so proud of you and I love the way she keeps you grounded." Another fan added: "Awww, glad she is home and ready to be spoilt." Her birthday celebrations come after Rylan revealed she was rushed to the hospital. Rylan, who appears with Linda on Celebrity Gogglebox, shared the news in a statement on the platform on Friday. He began by writing in the message: "Mummy Linda isn't well, sadly, so I won't be hosting the show tomorrow." The presenter continued by telling his followers: "Thank you to the emergency team at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Especially Tanya, who really looked after my mum. Will keep you updated as she's on the mend. She's a trooper." On Saturday, he shared a positive update with followers on Instagram and said: "Antibiotics have worked. Letting her home on orals. So she's home for her bday." He added: "Cheers, everyone, for your messages. Means a lot. Off sort wheelie bins x." Rylan had also updated fans earlier on but didn't detail why Linda had been hospitalised. He said, "She's all good. Hoping she will be at home for her bday. She's now worried about wheelie bins going out again."
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Musicians back folk legend's new bid to own his life's work
Dick Gaughan, born in Glasgow and raised in Leith, has been hailed as one of Scotland's leading folk singer-songwriters with a career that spanned more than four decades. Gaughan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards ceremony in 2010 and was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame a year prior, before a stroke forced him into retirement in 2016. READ MORE: Canadian duo to bring twist on trad music to Speyfest Despite this long-standing success, Gaughan's music is largely unavailable for purchase or streaming as the rights are currently held by an entity called Celtic Music. As a result, a number of acclaimed Scottish folk musicians have backed a crowdfunding campaign to help the singer-songwriter with legal fees as he attempts to win back the rights to his music. A GoFundMe was set up last week by Colin Harper, a music historian and record label consultant on archive releases and box sets, and has already acquired more than £22,000 in donations at the time of writing. In a video discussing the campaign, Harper said: 'This is a crowdfunding appeal to raise legal fees to test Celtic Music's claims to the rights of seven Dick Gaughan albums, solo and collaborative, spanning 1972 to 1995. 'It's not a witch-hunt of personalities living or dead. It's simply a matter of applying the law and, we hope, bringing the music back home to the man who made it and then sharing it far and wide.' Earlier this year, Harper ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to create an eight-disk box set of a "lost" era of Gaughan's music, which is set to be released next January. The cover of the forthcoming box set, R/evolution (Image: Dave Peabody)Gaughan, who is now legally blind, collaborated with Harper on the project. Speaking to the Scotsman, Harper said: 'I found myself thinking about this late last year. "It felt alarming – upsetting, in fact – that such an incredible artist who had seemed to be a powerful, righteous, invincible performer when I saw him at concerts in the '80s and '90s had faded almost completely from view. I had to do something about it.' READ MORE: Fund set up in honour of young Scottish DJ reaches £15k in just two months Celtic Music, which does not exist on Companies House, was founded by Dave Bulmer and his brother-in-law, Nick Sharpley, and operated as a record label from 1972. Its last release was in 2007. Bulmer passed away in 2013, with Sharpley left in charge of Celtic Music and its related companies. Several Scottish folk musicians have backed the initiative, including Kathryn Tickell, Patsy Seddon of super-group Clan Alba and renowned fiddler Aly Bain. Speaking to The National, Bain – who has been friends with and worked alongside Gaughan since the early seventies – explained why he has backed the campaign. 'It's not even about my friendship with Dick – it's just wrong what has been done with these recordings', he said. 'These recordings should never be kept away. They should be out there, and Dick should be able to sell them. 'I just think it's one of these legal things that we have to get sorted out, because it's just not right that all these songs of his are just kept in mothballs. Nobody can hear them. 'If anything, Dick has become even more appreciated in his old age, so it's important that he's able to produce these things and put them on the market again because they're great songs.' Gaughan hopes the campaign will help other artists of his generation, who have "felt their own legacies to have been affected by a record label's claimed ownership of their works". READ MORE: 'I'll be busy washing my hair', Stephen Flynn said of upcoming Trump visit Tickell told The National: 'Dick Gaughan is one of the absolute greats of the folk music world. I grew up listening to his music and it's impossible to overstate just how influential and inspirational he is. 'This crowdfunder is for legal fees to enable him to fight to retrieve several iconic recordings. 'We hope that the end result will bring some much-needed income, since Dick is no longer able to perform due to disability, as well as making these recordings more accessible for people to enjoy.' Organisers say any extra funds left over from the campaign will be donated to charity Help Musicians, which aims to help artists at all levels during "times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity". The GoFundMe for Gaughan's legal fees is still active and those wishing to do so can donate here. Neil Sharpley was approached for comment.
