Zoe Ball opened up on suffering with anxiety (Image: Dig It / Instagram)
Former BBC Radio 2 star Zoe Ball has opened up on how her health was impacting her work. The presenter took a break from her radio work following the death of her mum, Julia Peckham, back in 2024.
She died following a heartbreaking battle with pancreatic cancer. Zoe eventually deciding to step down from the programme several months later in December 2024, with her now admitting that she had been “struggling to work” while suffering with anxiety brought on by grief. Speaking on her podcast, which she shares with Jo Whiley, Zoe told Owen O’Kane all about understanding anxiety. She said: “For me, personally, and I know that everyone is different, I’ve always been very laidback. I normally just worry about the regular things but I started to have panic attacks.”
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She went on: “I think it was from grief, because that’s sort of when that started for me. And then, along came perimenopause as well. Then, I started to have crippling anxiety to the point where I was struggling to work or get through a show.
“It’s so crippling, I think. I just didn’t really know where to go with it. It’s that feeling of, when you’re in it, of not being able to get out of it.
“Anyway, I’ve come out of it and learnt a lot about it. I’ve had some brilliant help from some great people along the way.”
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Speaking about her family and her mother’s death in the new series of Who Do You Think You Are?, which was broadcast on Tuesday evening, Zoe said: “We lost my mum last year, and it really made me step back and look at the bigger picture and re-evaluate what is important in my life.
“Nelly, my daughter is 15, and I just want to be mum and be around for her before she has grown up and is off in the big wide world, like her brother, Woody.”
She added: “I didn’t see my mum for 14 years, which is a long time for a kid not to see her mum. When we did connect again, when I was 18, there was a lot of making up to do.
“I don’t remember ever meeting my mum’s mum. Her name was Margaret but everyone called her Peg. For a time, she was in what would have been called an asylum in those days, because she struggled with her mental health.
“Families are fascinating because there are stories families tell and stories that get hushed up so I’d be keen to find out more about what happened to her, almost pulling back the curtain.
“It could get quite emotional for me, because my mum was really excited about the prospect of us having a good dig into the past.
“I feel like it’s even more important now. I’m really sad she’s not here to learn these things, but wherever she is, she’s here with me in my heart.”
