Zoe Ball's departure triggers loss of half a million BBC Radio 2 listeners

Daily Record

7 days ago

BBC Radio 2 has lost nearly 500k listeners in recent months after Zoe Ball's exit from the breakfast show in December
BBC Radio 2 has seen a significant drop in its audience, losing nearly half a million listeners since introducing its revamped weekday line-up earlier this year, according to recent figures.
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The BBC station had replaced its renowned breakfast host, Zoe Ball, with Scott Mills after she stepped down from the position due to family commitments.
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The station had an estimated weekly audience of 12.62 million across April to June of this year, down from 13.11 million in the previous three months. It is the lowest total for Radio 2 since the current method of measuring listeners was introduced by research body Rajar in autumn 2021, following a break during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The latest statistics are the first complete set of quarterly data reflecting changes made to the station's weekday programming, which took effect at the end of January 2025. Among the changes was Mills stepping in as the new breakfast show host, replacing Zoe.
Other alterations included Trevor Nelson taking over the afternoon slot and DJ Spoony launching a late-night show from Monday to Thursday.
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Zoe presented her final breakfast programme on December 20 last year, after nearly six years in the role. Gaby Roslin and Mark Goodier temporarily hosted the show throughout January until Mills officially took over.
Zoe announced last November that she would be stepping down as host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show to "focus on family". The broadcaster shares two children, Woody, 23, and Nelly, 14 with her ex-husband, Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim.
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Announcing her decision live on air, Zoe 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."
She also expressed her excitement about her replacement being Mills, telling listeners: "Scott and I go way back to our Radio 1 days, when he was doing early mornings before me. He's been a close friend for years, and I'm beyond thrilled it's him taking over the Breakfast Show."
She continued: "Breakfast has always been his dream, and what a year he's had - from racing around the world to his beautiful wedding to Sam. He's not only a blooming brilliant producer but one of the best in radio. I can't wait to tune in on the school run!"
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Radio 2's weekly audience has dropped by nearly two million over the past three years, falling from 14.53 million in April–June 2022. Despite the decline, it's still one of the most popular radio stations in the UK.
The audience for the Today programme is down very slightly from 5.70 million in the previous three months, but up from 5.47 million in the equivalent period a year ago.
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This period has seen a number of veteran DJs disappear from the Radio 2 airwaves, such as Ken Bruce, who left to join Greatest Hits in March 2023; Steve Wright, who died in February 2024; and Johnnie Walker, who died in December 2024.
Despite the loss of listeners, Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: "I'm hugely proud that in a quarter where Radio 2 shone a light on Eurovision, celebrated Elaine Paige's 60 years in showbusiness, launched the RHS Radio 2 Dog Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, and presented a VE Day 80 concert, Radio 2 firmly remains the UK's most listened to single radio station."
"Congratulations to Scott Mills, whose Breakfast Show remains the number one breakfast show in the country, and Vernon Kay, whose weekday mid-morning show continues to be the most listened to programme on UK radio, with a weekly audience of 6.6 million," she continued.