IT has long been a cornerstone of Radio 2, famously hosted by Sir Terry Wogan, before Chris Evans took over. Now figures show current host Zoe Ball has haemorrhaged nearly 800,000 listeners from the breakfast show. So what now for the crown jewel in the broadcaster’s offerings?

Zoe Ball only took over recently?
The presenter – who previously helmed the Radio 1 breakfast show in the late 1990s – took over the reins of the morning show on Radio 2 in January, after Chris Evans departed to join Virgin Radio and front their breakfast show.

She was the first female host?
And thrilled to be so, saying that “to be the first woman to present this very special show is both an honour and privilege”. She was also the first woman to host the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

READ MORE: Zoe Ball sheds nearly 800,000 listeners on Radio 2 Breakfast Show 

The pressure was always on?
Yes, it’s always been the station’s most popular programme and Zoe herself admitted that she was filling some big shoes.
When she took over, she said she was “cock-a-hoop to be following in the giant footsteps of Chris Evans”, adding: “Believe me, I’m not underestimating the enormity of the task ahead, to follow not one but two of my broadcasting idols.”

The other being Sir Terry?
He fronted the slot for longer than any other host, initially from 1972 to 1984, before returning in 1993 till 2009.
His Wake Up To Wogan show offered a mix of music and jovial banter that listeners couldn’t get enough of, making him the most popular DJ in Europe at the time, with more than 8 million tuning in.
When he stood down at the age of 71, he said: “It touches me deeply that I’ve played a part in your lives for, it seems, like generations”.

But Evans kept them tuning in?
Despite his vastly different in-your-face approach to the morning airwaves – compared to the gentler style of Wake Up To Wogan – for his final three months, Evans’ listenership was a hefty 9.07 million.

So how many listeners has Zoe lost?
Previous figures for January to March show that as a presenter with a similar style to Evans – both vastly different to the more gentle start to the day offered by their late predecessor – she initially maintained his audience, with an average weekly listener tally of 9.05 million. But the latest industry figures show that around 780,000 weekly listeners tuned out in the second quarter of this year, falling from 9.05 million to 8.27 million, bringing the morning show its lowest ratings since 2010.

READ MORE: Brian Beacom: When does an opinion about Zoe Ball become misogynistic ranting?

How are other breakfast shows faring?
It could well be that some of her listeners are tuning in elsewhere.
Over on Zoe’s old beat of BBC Radio 1, Greg James attracted 
5.19 million listeners in the last quarter – his highest since taking over the slot last August, while Nick Ferrari’s LBC breakfast show also reached a new record audience of 1.4 million.
Chris’s new breakfast show on Virgin radio rose slightly, from 1.04 million to 1.11 million, while other programmes improved their audiences, including Magic’s Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott, and BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell and Rachel Burden.

So what now for the Radio 2 breakfast show?
It’s still the most popular breakfast programme on radio and if you look back to 2010, Chris Evans at one point lost one million listeners, going down to 8.48 million by the middle of the year, but he managed to draw them back. Let’s see what the next quarter brings.
A BBC spokesperson said of the dip: “Audience churn is expected when major schedule changes are made, as happened when Chris Evans took over from Sir Terry Wogan on Breakfast.”

What’s Zoe said?
The 48-year-old, who also hosts the Strictly spin-off show, Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, hasn’t commented specifically on the ratings this time. But she took to Twitter ahead of yesterday morning’s show to say there were “excited faces” for the programme, featuring Bob Mortimer, Kathy Burke and Emeli Sande.

And it’s all relatively good news for one Scot?
The fall in listeners at breakfast means Ken Bruce’s mid-morning show – featuring the enduring PopMaster – is now the most popular radio show in the UK, with 8.49 million listeners.
The Glasgow-born broadcaster said: “After 34 years as a part of the BBC Radio 2 family, I’m astounded that the allure of my daily grumpy musings, coupled with PopMaster, continue to entertain. 
“Many thanks to the long-suffering listeners.”