Zoe Ball has said she misses the days hosting “daft” TV programmes from the 1990s – but that the shows of the era probably would not appeal to audiences in 2017.
The presenter, who currently fronts Strictly Come Dancing’s companion show, appeared on Saturday-morning children’s programme Live And Kicking and daily show The Big Breakfast, among others, two decades ago.
She said “anything is possible” after Chris Evans revived his popular 1990s evening show TFI Friday in 2015 but that viewers are after a different type of entertainment now.
Zoe, 46, told Press Association: “I miss Saturday-morning telly, it was so daft (and there was) something for everyone.
“These days, adults want cookery and kids want cartoons, so it would be tricky.
“I remember those shows so fondly, perhaps they are best left as great memories.”
She suggested a version of a Saturday-morning programme she would take part in as long as it included certain celebrity hosts.
Zoe said: “Maybe they could do a Saturday-morning show with everyone who ever hosted Saturday mornings.
“Trevor and Simon, Noel Edmonds, Keith ‘Cheggers’ Chegwin, Phillip Schofield, Fearne Cotton, Cat Deeley, Jamie Theakston, Dick and Dom, Sam and Mark, Emma Forbes and Andi Peters, Gilbert the Alien, the Leprechauns…
“We could all job-share.”
Zoe fronted the BBC’s Live And Kicking alongside Jamie for three years, although ratings dropped in the late 1990s with the launch of ITV’s rival show SMTV Live, hosted by Cat and Ant and Dec.
She is now best known for presenting Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two, which airs every weeknight during the dancing programme’s run in autumn and winter.
Of Strictly’s increasing popularity, Zoe said: “It’s just pure telly joy.
“The pro dancers seem to get better and better, the training gets tougher, but the producers and pros and the band and the props guys break new boundaries each year and new partnerships dazzle us.
“It really is so pleasurable to watch people learn to dance, and as they fall in love with dancing we fall in love with them. (It’s a) win-win.”
Zoe will be appearing in Strictly’s new four-day exhibition for fans, entitled Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular, in June, along with a host of other stars from the programme, past and present.
She said: “I have a borderline dangerous obsession (with Strictly), and I have people every day coming up to me in the supermarket and on the train talking about how much they love the show and who they loved.
“What better way to celebrate this by inviting everyone to get a little closer to the Strictly family.”
Strictly Come Dancing : The Spectacular takes place between June 22-25 at ExCeL London. Tickets go on sale at 9am on March 1 and are available online at www.strictlyspectacular.com, or by calling 0844 858 6755.
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