Overview

• In a Times interview, Ball said shoots featured “racks of tiny clothes” and instructions to “straddle a chair,” which she described as quite uncomfortable.
• She said performers were conditioned not to refuse such requests and added she would respond very differently if similar demands were made of her teenage daughter.
• Ball credited Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s memoir with prompting a reassessment of how women were portrayed during the male-dominated 1990s ‘ladette’ era.
• The Independent reported Jo Whiley recalled feeling relieved Ball “took one for the team” by doing objectifying photoshoots during their Top of the Pops years.
• Since stepping down in December 2024, Ball has scaled back national radio work and now co-hosts the BBC’s Dig It podcast with Whiley, which surpassed one million downloads in its first month.