Zoe Ball launches new show Sept 7 on GHR

Zoe Ball launched her new weekday afternoon show, "Zoe Ball in the Afternoon," on Greatest Hits Radio on Monday, September 7, 2026, marking her return to full-time radio broadcasting. The presenter expressed a mix of excitement and nerves as she began her first show, which airs Mondays to Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ball, who previously hosted the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show and a Saturday afternoon slot before stepping down in December 2025, said her excitement levels were "peaking." She welcomed listeners and expressed her thrill at being a "radio neighbour" once again to former BBC colleagues Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo, who host shows on Greatest Hits Radio before and after her slot, respectively. Bruce hosts the mid-morning show, while Mayo presents the drivetime program. As a nod to her new station and the music it features, Ball selected "I've Got the Music in Me" by The Kiki Dee Band as her inaugural song. She described the choice as needing "big production, big sound, big feels," noting that it might not have been a common listener guess among suggestions like Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" or Nina Simone's "Feeling Good.