{"id":315046,"date":"2025-12-14T05:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T05:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/315046\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T05:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T05:04:09","slug":"emma-willis-to-host-new-bbc-radio-2-programme-as-zoe-ball-steps-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/315046\/","title":{"rendered":"Emma Willis to host new BBC Radio 2 programme as Zoe Ball steps down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Willis will replace Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Saturday lunchtime programme, as the presenter today announced she will step down later this month.<\/p>\n

Willis will be on the airwaves from January 2026 each Saturday lunchtime between 1pm and 3pm. The BBC has teased her programme will be jam-packed with special guests.<\/p>\n

Emma said of the announcement: “I’m a huge fan of Radio 2, so I’m absolutely chuffed to be joining the family – and it’s a real honour to follow in the huge footsteps Zoe leaves behind, who’s someone I admire and adore. I’m very much looking forward to spending my Saturday lunchtimes with the Radio 2 audience and I\u2019ll happily be the filling to a Romesh and Rylan sandwich!”<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Willis.\u00a0Dave Benett\/Getty Images for M&S Food<\/p>\n

Willis has spent six years co-presenting Sunday mornings on Heart Radio alongside Stephen Mulhern. And since 2019, she has been a regular voice on Radio 2, often deputising for Sara Cox, and Claudia Winkleman and Romesh Ranganathan.<\/p>\n

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, commented: “Emma is one of the UK\u2019s most popular broadcasters, so I\u2019m thrilled that she\u2019s joining the all-star Radio 2 family of presenters. I\u2019m certain that our loyal listeners will welcome her with open arms.<\/p>\n

“I can\u2019t wait to hear Emma\u2019s new show as a part of our Superstar Saturday weekend schedule, which features Tony Blackburn, Dermot O\u2019Leary, Romesh Ranganathan, Rylan, Liza Tarbuck, Gary Davies and Fearne Cotton.”<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Zoe Ball will present her last programme on Saturday 20th December, though she will continue to host specials on the station, which she has done throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Zoe said: “Spending Saturday lunchtimes with the Radio 2 gang has been an absolute hoot, the listeners, the stories, and of course my weekly giggles with Romesh and Rylan. I\u2019m over the moon for the fabulous Emma to take the reins, she\u2019s pure sunshine and is going to bring all the joy (and tunes!) to your Saturdays.”<\/p>\n

Helen added: “Huge thanks to Zoe for keeping Saturday lunchtimes cheerful and warm. She\u2019s much loved by our audience and amazing team of presenters. Zoe will always be a highly valued member of the Radio 2 family.”<\/p>\n

Check out more of our Audio<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma Willis will replace Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Saturday lunchtime programme, as the presenter today announced she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-315046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}