best for CELEBRITY
Zoe took over the
breakfast slot
from Chris EvansThe presenter
with new love
Michael ReedS
ince replacing Chris
Evans as the host of
Radio 2’s breakfast show
last year, presenter Zoe Ball,
48, has lost more than three
quarters of a million listeners
according to new figures.
OK, so the Strictly Come Dancing:
It Takes Two host is still being heard
by a weekly average of 8.27 million
on the channel (making it the most
popular breakfast show right now),
but her listeners are down 781,
on previous months, making it Radio
2’s lowest breakfast rating since 2010.
Harsh critics have claimed that the
reason behind her ‘catastrophically
bad’ show is because ‘it’s irritating
to the point where you want to bang
your head on a brick wall to escape
it’. Ouch, that’s bound to hurt.
Elsewhere, mainly male Twitter
users branded Zoe ‘giddy’ and
‘irritating ’, and claimed that her
‘fake optimism and broadcasting
style’ was ‘embarrassing ’.
Could it be to do with the fact that
giving female DJs ‘the top jobs’ in UK
radio has been agonisingly slow, and
we are all just more used to hearing
male voices over the airwaves?
‘I am fed up with female presenters
being foisted on me!!!’ ranted one
Twitter user. Little seems to have
changed since the 2013 report stating
that you’re 10 times more likely to
hear a male voice on the radio than
a female one.
While there is no denying that the
listening figures for Zoe’s breakfast
show have fallen, Chris Evans lost
more than a million listeners in his
own first three months at the helm.
It is also a fact that radical shake-ups
eventually bring in new listeners.
Zoe has not had the easiest of
times of late – she lost her partner,
cameraman Billy Yates, to suicide in
2017, later revealing that thinking of
it made her ‘heart hurt’ – so landing
such a high-profile radio gig looked
like the beginning of happier times.
Here’s hoping the dip in listening
figures is just a small bump in the
road. The mum-of-two, now dating
construction boss Michael Reed, has
shown that she can bounce back to
her bubbly self when she needs to.
So, Zoe, for what it’s worth, we’re
tuning in to your show every week
and loving what we hear!Has Zoe
dropped
the ball?
Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show
has seen a dramatic fall
in ratings... but is she
‘catastrophically bad’, or is
the reaction down to sexism?
Will Zoe bounce back from
harsh criticism about her
presenting prowess?8 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
WORDS:DANIELLE^SOUTHWOOD^PICTURES:^ BBC,GET
It’s^ not^ just^ fans^ YT
who^ were^ a^ little^
underwhelmed^ by^
this^ year’s^ Strictly^
celebrity^ line-up.^
It Takes^ Two^ host^ Zoe^
(joined^ in^ September^
by ex-Big^ Brother’s^ Bit^
On The^ Side^ presenter,^
Rylan^ Clark-Neal)^
admitted^ even^ she^
asked,^ ‘Who?!’^ when^
bosses^ told^ her^ about^
the ‘stars’^ they’d^
signed.^ ‘Social^ media^
star^ Saffron^ Barker,^
she’s^19 ,^ and^ we^ were^
all like...^ who?’^
Hmm...^ Awkward!Strictly:^ it^
takes^ ‘who?!’