Zoe Ball Explains Daughter Nelly Is ‘Based More At Her Dad’s’ Ahead Of Exams

Zoe Ball has shared that she’s getting used to the “quiet” since her teenage daughter opted to spend more time living with her dad Norman Cook in the lead-up to exam season.

Speaking on her podcast Dig It!, Zoe told co-host Jo Whiley that she’s currently seeing “less and less” of 16-year-old daughter Nelly as she is “based more at her dad’s now” while she prepares for her GCSEs.

“I think she’s got to that point of, ‘Ah, can I just be in one place?’,” the Radio 2 star explained, with Nelly having been based between her mum and dad’s households in recent years.

Pointing out that Nelly’s revision notes are currently all over her bedroom walls at her father’s house, Zoe continued: “It’s just [nice] not having to move from house to house, so she’s just spending more time there now.

“It’s only around the corner and I can nip round at any time, which is great, and she can come here if she gets upset about anything like, ‘Mum, I need you’.”

“But it’s less and less,” she lamented.

The broadcaster was married to Nelly’s father, the musician Norman Cook, better known to some as the music producer Fatboy Slim, between 1999 and 2016. The former couple also share a 25-year-old son, Woody Cook.

Zoe and Jo launched their Dig It! podcast last year, initially billing it as a reflection on “the messy and beautiful reality of living well”.

Earlier this month, Zoe used the podcast to address reports claiming that she was in the running to host the upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing, before later announcing that she hadn’t landed the gig.