Firefighters rush to Zoe Ball's £1.5m Sussex mansion after star accidentally leaves a candle burning in her empty house

Zoe Ball has revealed that firefighters rushed to her home on Monday.

Speaking on her Radio 2 Breakfast show, the star, 52, explained how she’d left a candle burning in her empty house. 

She told listeners: ‘Something that happened to me for the first time was that yesterday, the fire brigade went to my house.

‘I had left a candle burning in the lounge. I was so obsessed with The Matrix and the fact that I had made a cake on Sunday, I had gone out and hadn’t blown out one of the candles.

‘It was left smouldering in the lounge and at 9.25am my smoke alarms went off and thank goodness! Otherwise I might have gone home to no home!’

Zoe was quick to thank all of those involved in helping to ensure her house wasn’t destroyed by the fire, saying: ‘Thank you to my neighbour Abs and my gorgeous Em who called the fire brigade. 

‘And I’d like to give a big shout-out to Duncan and the Uckfield boys, Joe and Cameron and Steve, who went around, put out the candle and stopped my house from burning down.’ 

At the end of 2020, Zoe splashed out an estimated £1.5 million on the country mansion built by a Russian aristocrat.

The six-bedroom property, which was created by Baron Vladimir de Wolff in the 1920s, has a swimming pool, tennis court and acres of gardens.

At the time, Zoe, daughter of Johnny Ball, put her 18th century cottage in Ditchling on the market for £1.25 million, £275,000 more than she paid for it two years prior.

Before that, In February 2018, the BBC star sold her beachfront mansion in Brighton for £2.5million before moving to the period property in a quiet village. 

Zoe, whose boyfriend Billy Yates took his own life in 2017, had been living two doors from her ex-husband Fatboy Slim, 60, in a villa they bought in 2012.

The presenter shares Woody, 22, and Nelly, 13, with her former spouse.

Back in May it was reported that Zoe had split from her long term partner Michael Reed with friends allegedly saying she is ‘better off without him’.

The radio host had been dating the former construction worker for five-and-a-half years however sources told The Sun the relationship began to break down after Michael became ‘a bit demanding’.

The publication reported that Michael has since been asked by the TV star to move out of her £1.5million sprawling Sussex home.

The source said at the time: ‘Zoe is gutted but she’s better off without Michael. This is a relief to many of her friends, who think she has done the right thing.

‘Now it seems the relationship has finally run its course. She asked him to move out and he has done so, although they have remained on good terms.’

MailOnline contacted Zoe Ball’s representatives for comment at the time.

Exes: Back in May it was reported that Zoe had split from her long term partner Michael Reed with friends allegedly saying she is ‘better off without him’ (pictured together in 2021)