DJ Norman Cook has refused to comment on reports his former wife Zoe Ball has been offered the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, during an interview with the programme’s current host Chris Evans.
The musician, known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, was speaking to Evans about his forthcoming tour to mark the 20th anniversary of his album You’ve Come A Long Way Baby.
Evans said: “I’m going to ask you a question, then you’re going to say I’m sworn to secrecy and then we’re going to move on.
“So what do you know of this front page story in The Sun today about Zoe being offered this show come 2019?”
Cook replied: “I couldn’t possibly comment on that Christopher.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We are considering and talking to a number of people. We haven’t made a decision and we’ll make an announcement when we have.”
The Sun reported that Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two host Ball has pipped fellow Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox to the job and is hammering out the details of a new contract.
Evans recently took his millions of listeners by surprise when he announced he would be leaving the flagship programme and returning to Virgin Radio.
Ball and Cox were tipped as possible successors, while Jo Whiley, Simon Mayo and Dermot O’Leary were also among the runners and riders.
There has been speculation that BBC chiefs wanted to replace Evans, one of the corporation’s highest-paid stars, with a female host following controversy over gender pay inequality.
The paper says Brighton-based Ball, who was favourite to take the reins at Britain’s most-listened-to show, is weighing up how to balance the five-day-a-week slot and family life.
Ball and Cook have two children together from their 18-year marriage, 17-year-old Woody and daughter Nelly, eight.
She would be the first female full-time host of the show if she takes the role.
The 47-year-old mother-of-two has hosted a Saturday afternoon show on Radio 2 since March 2017 and has stood in for Evans on several occasions.
Evans, 52, has rejected suggestions that his decision to leave the station was due to money.
Earlier in the year, his BBC salary was shown to be between £1.6 million and £1,669,999 as the corporation revealed earnings of its top talent in its annual report.
Evans was the BBC’s highest earner when the salaries of stars at the corporation were first revealed in 2017, taking home up to £2.2 million.
In the same report, Ball was in the £250,000-£299,999 bracket.
