Zoe Ball breaks her silence on Radio 2 absence as she confirms she will return to breakfast show on Monday

Zoe Ball has broken her silence after her six-week absence from BBC Radio 2.

The presenter confirmed via social media on Sunday that she will return to her main show on Monday morning.

She told her fans: ‘We’re having breakfast again tomorrow morning at 6:30.’ She added: ‘@realscottmills 7 @djspoony thanks for the great changes.’

Zoe shared an Instagram reel of Disco Bambino’s song Odeon (Holdin’ On) and added the words ‘Bring it’ to the post. She also tagged her Breakfast Show team.

The broadcaster, who is the BBChighest paid female star earning £950,000 a year, has not been heard on the radio since August 8, as her fans become increasingly concerned.

After the death of her beloved mother, Zoe was told to ‘take all the time she needs’.

But the mystery surrounding Zoe’s return deepens as her unexplained absence continues, with it revealed she has sold her country home.

The Mail can reveal that Zoe has moved house in recent weeks and sold her beautiful country home in the idyllic Sussex village of Newick, which she bought for £2,025,000 in August 2020.

She reportedly packed her bags in August and moved to a house between Brighton and Hove, close to her ex-husband DJ Norman Cook, the father of her two children, whom she separated from in 2016. They divorced in 2020.

Some are claiming the change is a “fresh start” for Zoe, who has been single since splitting from model Michael Reed last year after a five-and-a-half year relationship.

“Zoe was clearly tired of life in the country and wanted to move somewhere a bit more lively,” said a source familiar with her new home.

‘She is very focused on making her home exactly the way she wants it and takes great pleasure in ordering furniture and supplies to make it absolutely perfect.’

Zoe was spotted at Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton on Wednesday, with one bystander saying how surprised he was when he saw her.

“Everyone was wondering where she was and then there she was, right before my eyes,” they said.

Despite an outpouring of concerned messages from fans online, Scott opened Zoe’s show last week without any mention of his absent colleague.

He previously sent a message of support to the star when he replaced her on August 12. He told listeners that he was taking over unexpectedly.

“If you set your alarm for 6:30 every morning and Zoe normally gets up, don’t panic. You didn’t oversleep,” he told listeners, adding that he would be in trouble for a while.

“If you just posted us this morning, it’s Scott Mills who will be replacing Zoe for the next few weeks. I’m sending you all my love Zo, as is the team,” he said.

It comes as Zoe’s son Woody Cook revealed he is “happy to see her smile in difficult times” after she was photographed being comforted by her ex-husband Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, outside a pub in Hove on Thursday.

As concerns grow over her unexplained absence, Woody, 23, who shares Zoe with Fatboy Slim, has broken his silence about his absence.

He told MailOnline exclusively: ‘My mum and I like to keep our private lives to ourselves, but I have to say I’ve been spending more time with her recently because she’s always been there for me when I’ve been going through tough times. I’m glad to see her smiling.’

Sources close to the star told MailOnline that the BBC has given her ‘as much time as she needs’, a move the BBC took when she took time off in March to care for her ailing mother Julia Peckham, who died of cancer a month later.

When Zoe was first spotted in weeks, BBC Her bosses are said to be doing “everything they can” to help her return to work when she is ready.

Before the star ended her show in August, she holidayed in Ibiza with her son Woody and daughter Nelly and attended Brighton Pride.

She then worked for three more days before leaving the show.

The BBC has given no explanation for her absence, other than a spokeswoman saying last week that she will be back later this month.

Zoe has also been noticeably quiet on social media. Her last post on Instagram was posted on August 5.

In March, Zoe said she would be taking some time off to care for her mother Julia Peckham, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

She died in April and the presenter returned to work on May 13. Last year, Ms Ball took three weeks off to Corfu to present Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream for rival ITV.

Zoe has overcome a series of tragedies and heartbreak, leading her to take a break from Radio 2 earlier this year to focus on her family.

The 53-year-old BBC icon announced in April that her mother Julia had died of pancreatic cancer, a disease she had been diagnosed with a month earlier.

She posted a tribute to her mother on social media, writing: ‘Sleep well, sweet mama.

“Thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, how to always show courage and empathy, and how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest gift. We are bereft without you, but we will hold on to each other so tightly.”

It is the latest in a series of tragedies that the beloved Radio 2 presenter has had to endure.

Her five-and-a-half-year relationship with Michael Reed recently ended and seven years ago, in May 2017, her partner Billy Yates committed suicide.

Mr Yates’ death came after Ms Ball’s 18-year marriage to DJ Fatboy Slim, real name Normal Cook, broke down.