BBC Radio 2's Zoe Ball declares 'warfare' on local 'gangs'

BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball has shared her challenges with a local "gang" after moving to a townhouse in Brighton and Hove. In 2024, the broadcaster swapped her £2 million countryside place in Sussex's rural village of Newick for city life, which is reportedly next door to her ex-husband Norman Cook, who is also known as Fatboy Slim.

The pair who got married in 1999, welcomed two children together but parted ways in 2016 and eventually finalised their divorce in 2020. However, since relocating, Zoe seems to have taken up gardening in her spare time, but has also run into some trouble with rebellious locals. It was reported that Zoe has been locked in "warfare" with a "gang" of foxes, cats and squirrels who have made a mess of her garden.

According to the MailOnline, she claimed: "I've got this gang of foxes, cats and squirrels that basically s*** in all the borders.

Zoe also said that none of the tips or tricks have worked despite her efforts to use lemon, thyme, and mulch.

In fact, they backfired as the 54-year-old sighed: "The squirrels are now digging up their monkey nuts and the bulbs they nicked off me ... this is warfare.

"I'm going to sit at dawn with a pop gun under a blanket aiming at them. They're bold. They come up to me like a little gang of s***** squirrels."

This comes after her son Woody Cook, 24, shared that his parents have recently grown closer and bonded over new hobbies, including gardening.

During her departure from BBC Radio, he issued an update about his mother and shared: "In the last five years, it's been funny watching my parents take up gardening both of them.

"These crazy party people I grew up with are now gardening, making puzzles and working in the local café.

"It's very funny to see that transitional period, just as I'm kind of leaving the nest and now at the start of something big for me in music," Woody added.

Despite leaving the airwaves in December 2024 to "focus on family,"Zoe eventually returnedwith a brand new weekend show.

Her previous breakfast show meant she was live on the radio from 6:30 am to 9:30 am on weekdays, but now she has a more relaxed start time of 1 pm.