BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball has shared her heartache over losing her mother, revealing how a simple shopping trip left her overwhelmed with emotion.
Speaking on the Dig It podcast with fellow broadcaster Jo Whiley, Zoe discussed how the festive season makes her grief particularly difficult to bear.
The radio star recalled a recent visit to a supermarket that unexpectedly reduced her to tears.
She said: "I walked into M&S the other day, I saw Christmas decorations and burst into tears immediately because I'm like 'mum'."
Yet she managed to find a lighter moment amid the sadness, adding: "But then, I'm laughing because I'm thinking she'd be laughing at me going: 'Pull yourself together for God's sake. Go and buy yourself your favourite sandwich."
As the festive period draws near, Zoe revealed that her family makes a deliberate effort to honour those they've lost, with she and her children hanging baubles featuring photographs of lost loved ones on their Christmas tree.
The loss of her mother, Julia Ball, led the broadcasting veteran to make a significant professional change last year.
When she announced her exit from the BBC Radio 2 breakfast programme last November, she cited her reasoning as: "After six incredible years, it's time to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family."
However, she returned to the station in May after less than a year away, swapping her early morning slots for a fresh Saturday afternoon breakfast programme.
During a recent episode of her podcast with Jo Whiley, she reflected on having to take weeks off work following her mum's death, revealing: "I had to stop working. I was on the floor in the kitchen. I couldn't move. I had a proper emotional breakdown. I haven't really talked about it, actually, very much. Yeah, it was brutal."
Starting out as a children's TV presenter in the 1990s, she has since become one of broadcasting's most recognisable faces through numerous roles including Top of the Pops and the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, before transitioning to BBC Radio 2 in more recent years.
She has also appeared alongside her eldest child, Woody, on Celebrity Gogglebox back in June 2020.