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Zoe Ball has responded to Declan Donnelly after learning what his initial impressions of her were. During an episode of Hanging Out with Ant and Dec, the duo shared a laugh as Dec read aloud entries from his 1994 diary.

Around this period, he and Ant were recognised as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove and had met Zoe while filming a segment for The Big Breakfast.

Reading from his diary, Dec revealed he had written "hello" in a flirtatious manner alongside Zoe's name, following his account of their meeting. Laughing, Ant teased: "Can we get Zoe Ball on the podcast because someone is a big fan?".

"I obviously took a shine to Zoe Ball that day," Dec replied. Responding to the clip on her and Jo Whiley's Dig It podcast, Zoe admitted she couldn't recall the specific appearance, but did remember being quite taken with Dec after interviewing them.

"I did have a crush on Dec," the 55-year-old confessed to her co-host. "I had a crush on him for years. I first interviewed them at Byker Grove, for The Ozone, and I thought, 'Oh, he's such a sweetheart'."

She playfully added: "But hey, what could've been, what could've been. I think that was my skinny era."

Jo quipped: "Your life could've been so, so different. Imagine the pair of you."

Laughing, Zoe said they'd be "quite an odd pairing," before adding: "I've always had a soft spot for Dec, he's a darling. Ah, Dec, if I'd only known, I would've taken you for a Tizer. I'll have to check my diary from 1994."

While Dec may have been the one that got away, Zoe subsequently dated and wed Norman Cook, also known as Fatboy Slim. The pair were married for 17 years and share two children together, Woody and Nelly.

After their separation in 2016, she began a relationship with Billy Yates, who tragically took his own life the following year.

Zoe later moved on with Michael Reed, though the couple parted ways after five years together in 2023.

She is currently in a relationship with television production designer Mathieu Weekes, whom she lovingly calls "the lodger" on her podcast.

While recently offering advice to a listener on the podcast, Zoe seemed to allude to her difficult separation from the DJ. She remarked: "Yes it is so hard to leave a relationship when you know it's the right thing to do.

"It's just so difficult, you feel awful for the person you've left, you feel terrible for breaking up a family, you feel guilty for your family, it is a lot.

"It does take such bravery but when you're out and the dust starts to settle, you realise it was exactly what you needed to do. And hopefully as your kids get older you can talk to them a little bit more about why that happened."

Meanwhile, Dec married Ali Astall in 2015, and the pair have two young children together.