Zoe Ball 'WILL be back on Radio 2 tomorrow' after six-week break as insiders give update

Insiders have insisted Zoe Ball will be back hosting her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Monday.

The broadcaster has been absent from her primetime radio slot since August 8 with fans growing increasingly concerned for the star, who has been grieving the death of her beloved mother in recent months.

But BBC insiders have now confirmed Zoe,who is the BBC 's highest paid female star earning £950,000-a-year, will make her return, taking back her show from colleague Scott Mills who has been stepping in for the past six weeks,

'Zoe's been through a lot lately but she's battled through and is keen to get back to work,' a source told The Sunday Mirror .

'Scott's done a great job but the team are looking forward to welcoming Zoe back.'

Zoe was told to 'take all the time she needs' following the death of her beloved mother .

But the mystery surrounding Zoe's return continues to deepen amid her unexplained absence, as it's emerged that she's sold her countryside home.

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

She is understood to have upped sticks in August and moved to a townhouse between Brighton and Hove, close to her ex-husband DJ Norman Cook, the father of her two children, from whom she separated in 2016. They divorced in 2020.

Some suggest that the change is a 'new start' for Zoe, who has been single since she split from model Michael Reed last year after five-and-a-half years together.

'Zoe obviously got fed up with life in the country and wanted to move to somewhere a bit more lively,' said a source with ­knowledge of her new home.

'She has become really engrossed in making her house just as she wants it and has been happily ordering furniture and buying bits and bobs to make it perfect.'

Indeed, Zoe was spotted at Brighton's Churchill Square shopping centre on Wednesday, with one onlooker describing their surprise at seeing her.

'Everyone has been wondering where she has been and then there she was, right in front of my eyes,' they said.

Despite a flurry of concerned messages online from fans, Scott opened Zoe's show last week with no mention of his absent colleague.

He previously sent a message of support to the star while standing in for her on August 12, telling listeners that he was unexpectedly taking over.

It comes as Zoe's son Woody Cook revealed he's 'glad to see her smiling through tough times' after she was photographed being comforted by ex-husband Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, outside a café in Hove on Thursday.

As concern has grown around her unexplained absence - Woody, 23, who Zoe shares with Fatboy Slim - has broken his silence on his absence.

He exclusively told MailOnline: 'My mum and I like to keep our private lives to ourselves but I will say I have stepped up and spent a lot more time with her recently as she has always been there when I've had tough times. I'm glad to see her smiling.'

Sources close to the star told MailOnline she has been given 'as much time as she needs' by the BBC, who acted similarly when she took time off in March to care for her ill mother Julia Peckham who passed away from cancer a month later.

As Zoe was spotted for the first time in weeks, BBC bosses are said to be doing 'everything they can' to help her return to work when she is ready.

Before leaving her show in August, the star enjoyed a holiday to Ibiza with her son Woody and daughter Nelly and attended Brighton Pride.

She then returned to work for three days before leaving the show.

The BBC has not offered any explanation for her absence, other than a spokeswoman last week saying she will be back later this month.

Zoe has also been unusually quiet on social media with her last Instagram message posted on August 5.