Personal life takes toll as Ball quits Xfm drivetime show

LONDON - Zoe Ball is giving up her drivetime slot on Xfm from the new year to take on a weekly Friday night show, giving her more time to spend time with her family after a tumultuous year in her personal life.

Ball is to be replaced by former Kenickie frontwoman Lauren Laverne, who hosted the mid-morning Saturday show for two years. More recently, she has been filling in for Ball when she has been away.

Xfm's programme controller Andy Ashton said: "Xfm already has one of the most enviable DJ line-ups and it's just about to get even better. Not only do we get to keep Zoe, but we now have Lauren on the daytime line-up too, who is undoubtedly one of the most exciting radio DJs out there -- it doesn't get much better than that."

Laverne will be competing against Sara Cox, who has recently been moved from her breakfast show slot to the drivetime show on BBC Radio 1 in a job swap with Chris Moyles. Cox's breakfast show lost more than 500,000 listeners and the move is expected to help stem this decline.

Cox, who recently announced on air that she and her husband DJ Jon Carter are expecting a baby, is famously good friends with Ball.

Ball said: "[Laverne] will definitely give Coxy a run for her money in the afternoon, who, let's face it, will probably be too busy worrying about her swollen ankles to concentrate on her show."

Ball's private life hit the headlines earlier this year when she was plastered all over the tabloids with DJ and musician Dan Peppe, causing a split in her high-profile marriage to DJ and producer Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook.

However, with the episode behind her and her marriage back together, she wants to spend more time with her family, despite having signed an earlier contract to stay on the show until at least the summer.

"I can't wait to spend more time with my son," she said. "I'll be able to do all the normal things again like take him to school and put him to bed, basically be a full-time mum. Plus, I still get to hang out with my Xfm mates when I do my new show on Fridays."

No details were available about the new show, but it is expected to commence in the new year.

Laverne described her new job as pretty much the jackpot.

"Working with lovely people, at the coolest station in the country and playing records I love. It's mega! If I can control my Tourette's Syndrome-type tendencies while I'm on air I might just carry it off," she said.

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