'''Zoë Louise Ball''' (born November 23, 1970 in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the prestigious BBC Radio 1 breakfast show.
Career
The daughter of children's TV presenter Johnny Ball, Zoë was educated at a convent school in Buckinghamshire. Her first TV appearance was as a child in the studio audience of Saturday morning children's show ''Saturday Superstore'', on which her father was appearing as a guest.
She began her television career as a runner at Granada Television and researcher on BSkyB. She worked two years as a researcher for quiz shows.
Her presenting jobs have included hosting ''The Big Breakfast'' & The Priory on Channel 4, BBC One's Saturday morning children's programme ''
Live & Kicking'' and pre-school programme Playdays.
Although known primarily for her TV work, it was in radio where she became a major British celebrity after she was recruited to co-host the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in October 1997 with Kevin Greening. She eventually graduated to become the sole host - the first female DJ to do so. At this time, her hard-drinking, hard-partying antics contributed to the identification of the so-called "ladette culture" of the late 1990s. She later notoriously re-created the naked pose on a backturned chair made famous by Christine Keeler when doing an interview and spread with SKY magazine.
Zoe left Radio 1 in March 2000 to raise a family. Her final Breakfast show was on the 30th March 2000, and she was succeeded by her friend Sara Cox.
Zoë co-hosted the 2002 BRIT Awards with Frank Skinner but otherwise has not undertaken much work in recent years due to motherhood. She returned to radio in mid 2002 when she joined London's Rock Station XFM, where she presented the Weekday Drivetime show until December 2003 & then in January 2004 took over a Friday evening music show for the station. She eventually left XFM at the end of 2004.
In 2005, after co-hosting the BBC reality show ''Strictly Dance Fever'', became a contestant on its sister show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', partnering Ian Waite (in which she ranked 3rd place), admitting during the programme that her husband was against the idea.
Though regarded as professional, Zoë twice received a carpeting for swearing on the radio - firstly when she used the word "bastard" while being interviewed by Chris Evans during his spell on the Radio 1 breakfast show (she was publicising her appointment to ''The Big Breakfast'' at the time); then, as host of the Radio 1 breakfast show, for using the expression "fucking brilliant"
