Zoe Ball met with mixed response from Radio 2 listeners as she hosts first Breakfast Show after radio saved her life

The presenter, 48, has taken the reins from Chris Evans, 52, who will be hosting a brand new show on Virgin Radio next Monday.

Zoe – who was also the first female host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show – kicked off her new slot by playing Aretha Franklin's Respect, as she told listeners: "Good morning Radio 2 superstar listeners, here we go.”

One delighted listener praised: "Well done @ZoeTheBall amazing first show with amazing music and you even have @TinaDaheley yaaasss! Gutted I have to get out my car and stop listening but work calls! #ZoeBall"

Another joined in and said: "#zoeball first track brought tears to my eye. Woman doing breakfast on radio 2 and Aretha playing! #Womenonradio #radio2"

And one listener added: "Well, @ZoeTheBall stepped in to some pretty big shoes today. As a former breakfast show presenter, I have a slight inkling of how she's feeling!

"Give her some time people, she's not trying to be Mr Evans' MK2, she's being Zoe Ball – it WILL be different! @BBCRadio2 ?❤️"

But one unimpressed listener wrote: "Thank goodness for DAB in the car. Zoe “It’s 1992, I’ve got a posse, we’re so whacky” Ball lasted about 3 mins on @BBCRadio2 Best radio station in the country to one of the worst in a year. Well done!"

And another complained: "Ok so I've given Zoe Ball on Radio 2 30 minutes and I miss Chris Evans…..Can't wait for Monday 21st to hear him back on the radio….@achrisevans"

Chris Evans has vowed it will be “all hands on deck” when he returns to the airwaves.

Wife Natasha Shishmanian, 38, wept on air last month as she read a letter in the voice of their sons Noah, nine, and Eli, six, during Chris’s final BBC Radio 2 appearance.

And he said yesterday: “To what extent will I involve my family in order to make the new show a hit? The answer is infinite. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.

"It’s all hands on deck here, including the little ones.”

Chris and golfer Natasha welcomed twins Walt and Boo in September and he also has daughter Jade, 33, from a previous relationship.

The star is returning to Virgin after almost two decades away from the brand.

He added: “So much has changed in broadcasting since I was last at Virgin Radio that now, thanks to Sky, we can do the show without ad breaks.”

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