Old lady's balls-up almost costs Zoe Ball more than her all-round blonde good looks

Phew! What a narrow escape for one of Britain's most beautiful celebrities, former kids program anchor, turned Strictly Come Dancing superstar, Zoe Ball. Luckily an old lady's costly error in confusing the accelerator and the brake on her Rover 200 did not result in any serious injuries either for Zoe or her cameraman who took the brunt.

Zoe Ball narrowly escapes injury after runaway car smashes into film set

10th May 2008 Mail
A car careered onto an outdoor film set yesterday, missing presenter Zoe Ball by inches and clipping her cameraman.

Miss Ball, 37, had been filming for a charity campaign on the seafront near her home in Brighton when the accident happened.

The driver of the car was an elderly woman, who appeared to lose control of the vehicle as she left a private car park.

Zoe Ball suffered cuts and bruises while shooting a promotional trailer

A cameraman on the shoot and a freelance photographer were both hit, one by a trailer which was struck by the car. Both were examined by an ambulance crew but neither needed hospital treatment.

The driver, who is believed to have pressed the accelerator in her Rover 200 instead of the brake, escaped injury.

Miss Ball, a former Radio 1 DJ and star of Strictly Come Dancing, said: "We were doing some filming in the car park and a lady, who I don't know, got into her car and came out of the car park.

"She lost control and smashed into us but we are all absolutely fine now. It was a freak accident and it was a bit out of the blue. We were all quite shaken."

The mother of one added: "It was terrifying and all sort of in slow motion. The car didn't hit me but it did hit a couple of the guys. We called an ambulance for them."

Another witness said: "Suddenly as the crew were setting up their equipment this car came shooting across.

"It hit the trailer of a filming unit which then hit one of the crew. The car kept going and ran into a cameraman's legs.

"It is difficult to say how fast it was going but I would guess about 30mph. I saw Zoe and the people around her run to get out of the way. It was very frightening.

"The car smashed through a fence and then into a wall and I am sure that the car is a write-off. It was a close call and amazing that nobody was seriously hurt."

The driver of the car declined to comment on the accident. She was later interviewed by police.

The lunchtime filming at Hove Deep Sea Anglers Club was for a fundraising campaign for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's lifeguards.

The accident occurred near the TV presenter's home in Hove, near Brighton

Miss Ball's husband Norman Cook, alias DJ Fatboy Slim, said: "Zoe just walked in and said, 'You are never going to believe what has happened.' By the time I knew about it the event was all over.

"I'm just thankful that everyone is OK and like the true professionals they are, they finished the filming but had to have a cup of tea first."