Zoë Ball may have had a career breakthrough, after landing the coveted breakfast show job on BBC Radio 2, but it seems to have come at a cost – her friendship with fellow DJ Sara Cox.
In his column for The Sun, Dan Wootton has claimed that the pair’s legendary friendship has faltered, after they had to compete for the job.
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Sara had been projected to land the gig after her years spent filling in for former host Chris Evans, but ultimately the job went to Zoë.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Zoë claimed that the pair are used to going head to head for jobs, and that they didn’t let it affect their friendship.
“We spoke a lot during the whole process,” Zoë said. “We’re old buddies and we’ve always been really supportive of each other. Sometimes she gets jobs I’ve wanted. We always talk. It worked out.”
But Dan has claimed that this is far from the truth, saying several BBC insiders have told him the relationship between the two women has cooled.
“The truth of the situation is their close friendship faded as they increasingly competed for similar jobs,” Dan said in his column.
“Sure, they don’t hate each other by any means – and are respectful in professional situations – but every BBC staffer I’ve spoken to since I revealed news of the controversial breakfast decision says Sara was left completely gutted,” he said.
Sara has commented on the competition for the job, saying in an appearance on ITV’s This Morning that she did not expect to get it.
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She joked that there was an “old Chinese proverb that the stand-in never gets the gig”.
Sara will be taking over hosting duties on Drivetime, after Simon Mayo’s resignation.
Zoë claimed that as they each start their new roles, they’ll still be looking to each other for support.
“We start on the same day, which is wonderful,” she said. “We are going to ring each other before to try to keep calm.
“She’s an amazing broadcaster. She cracks me up. She has so much energy. It’s all turned out rather nice.”
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