[2] In 2018, Ball was announced as the new host of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show and took over from Chris Evans in January 2019,[3] before stepping down from the programme in December 2024.

Following this, in 2011 she replaced Claudia Winkleman as host of the BBC Two spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two until her departure in 2021.

[11][12] Ball became a runner at Granada Television and researcher for Cool Cube (1990–1994),[13] a children's Saturday afternoon magazine show, produced at Granada's studio in Manchester, by Clear Idea Television, and broadcast on the British Satellite Broadcasting channel Galaxy.

[11][10] In 1996, Ball was a co-host with Jamie Theakston in BBC One's Saturday morning children's program Live & Kicking.

[27] In November 2013, Ball co-hosted the BBC One Children in Need telethon, alongside Sir Terry Wogan, Fearne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw and Tess Daly.

[32] In 2016, Ball co-presented Can't Touch This, a Saturday night game show for BBC One, alongside Ashley Banjo.

Ball is seen and heard on her radio programme questioning the outrageous antics of spoiled spare to the British crown, Princess Georgiana, played by Catherine Tate.

In October 2005, Ball became a contestant on the third series of the BBC One talent show Strictly Come Dancing, where she was partnered by Ian Waite.

Ball and Waite were ranked in third place;[29] they also scored 38/40 (including two tens) for three dances in the series and one in the Christmas special.

At this time, her hard-drinking, hard-partying lifestyle contributed to the identification of the so-called "ladette culture" of the late 1990s.

From 2006, she provided relief presenting duties for BBC Radio 2, fronted specialist documentaries, sat in for Dermot O'Leary for three weeks in February 2006, and co-presented (with Danny Baker) the hastily conceived replacement for Jonathan Ross' Saturday morning show, in the wake of Ross's suspension due to Sachsgate in 2008.

In 2009, Ball became the usual relief presenter for Ken Bruce's weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2.

She also began hosting the Saturday breakfast show from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on the network from 6 June 2009 as part of a shake-up of weekend programming at Radio 2.

On 3 October 2018, she was announced by Chris Evans as the new host of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show, which began on 14 January 2019.

[4] Whilst at BBC Radio 1, Ball began a relationship with the DJ and musician Norman Cook, known as Fatboy Slim.

[29] In March 2018, Ball took part in the 'Hardest Ride Home' challenge in which she cycled from Blackpool to Brighton to raise money for Sport Relief and mental health awareness.