Zoe Ball has paid tribute to her late partner Billy Yates as she marked eight years since his tragic death while they were together.

It has been a turbulent time for the radio host, 53, who lost her mother in April last year following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

Following the death of her mother, Zoe decided to step away from her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show to spend more time with her family.

Zoe also took time away from her show, which was the Saturday afternoon slot at the time, when Billy pᴀssed away aged 40 in May 2017.

The camera man sadly took his own life after a long battle with depression, with Zoe revealing she’d been ‘in shock for two years’ following the loss.

Alongside a picture of Billy on his motorbike wearing a pair of shades, she wrote on Monday: ‘8 years forever in our hearts Billface #mateswithyates.’

Zoe Ball has paid tribute to her late partner Billy Yates as she marked eight years since his tragic death while they were together

Alongside a picture of Billy on his motorbike wearing a pair of shades, she wrote: ‘8 years forever in our hearts Billface #mateswithyates’

Zoe also took time away from her show, which was the Saturday afternoon slot at the time, when Billy pᴀssed away aged 40 in May 2017

Zoe’s 15-year-old daughter Nelly replied in the comments she ‘missed him every day’, while also sharing her own tribute online.

Nelly posted a picture of Billy on her Instagram Story and wrote: ‘8 years’.

Zoe received supportive messages from other friends, including presenter Gaby Roslin who shared a white heart underneath the post.

Other comments said ‘big love’ and ‘much love’ as friends sent well wishes to the star.

Last year to commemorate the occasion, Zoe shared a selfie of Billy and wrote: ‘7 years. Kisses in the sky.’

In an emotional interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in February 2020, Zoe spoke of Billy’s death and the grief she endured after he took his own life.

Zoe discussed the cameraman’s struggle with mental health and revealed that Billy lived with depression for most of his life.

Speaking candidly to Discs host Lauren Laverne about the ordeal, she admitted that watching him suffer and struggle with mental health and has encouraged anyone else struggling to reach out for help. 

Nelly posted a picture of Billy on her Instagram Story and wrote: ‘8 years’

Zoe said: ‘I think it’s so isolating to be trapped in your mind like that, when you doubt yourself, you doubt everything you’ve ever known. You doubt your family love you. You doubt your friends care for you.’ 

But she insisted there is always help available and that ‘it’s important to share there is hope.’

Zoe remembered the man she loved and said ‘he was so full of love and would help anyone in need’, and insisted he should be ‘remembered for his life, not his death,’

Speaking of the song Do I Love You by Frank Wilson, which she dedicated to Billy, Zoe said: ‘This track will always remind me of him. He loved to dance and loved to laugh and he brought so much into my life.

She added: ‘ I wanted to play a piece of music for him that reflected him as a human.’

The radio presenter also addressed her grief the year before, which marked the devastating two-year anniversary of Billy’s death.

Speaking on her Radio 2 show, she admitted that the heartbreaking day – his anniversary – makes her knees wobble’ and ‘heart hurt’ as she encouraged her struggling listeners to reach out for help.

During the emotive radio speech, Zoe said: ‘So tomorrow it’s going to be two-years since our dear Billy Yates died.

Alongside a snap of Billy, Zoe penned: ‘7 years kisses in the sky’

‘Anyone who has lost someone dear to them, be it a friend or a family member, will know that these anniversaries have a tendency to make your knees wobble and your heart hurt.

‘With grief, it’s often an every day feeling not just anniversaries. The longer the time without them, the more you miss their ways and their voice in your life. Even though of course they’ll never leave your heart.

‘These anniversaries are good as they give you an excuse to just spend some time with your thoughts about them.

‘I wanted to send some dear love to his family today and all weekend, and all his brilliant friends – mates with Yates, who we love to pieces.

‘I just wanted to reach out with thoughts and an extra dollop of love to anyone going through anything at the moment, whether it be mental health problems, perhaps a loved one is poorly or maybe you’re just having a right old tricky time of it at the moment.

‘Life is very tough for many reasons, when you can, if you are suffering from mental health problems try and be brave, reach out for help from your friends and family.

It has been a turbulent time for the radio host, 53, who lost her mother in April last year following a short battle with pancreatic cancer

The presenter and DJ were married from 1999 to 2016 and share two children together, a son Woody, 24, and daughter Nelly (pictured Woody and Nelly)

‘I can promise you they would do anything for you and it’s not an easy thing to do. Try to remember you’re not alone in this funny old life, cuddle those who you love and treasure those memories.’

Zoe and Billy were friends for years and began dating following her marriage split from DJ Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook in 2016 and were first pictured together in February 2017.

The presenter and DJ were married from 1999 to 2016 and share two children together, a son Woody, 24, and daughter Nelly.