Scott Mills exits the BBC after allegations

The BBC has sacked Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills after allegations surfaced about his personal conduct.

In a brief statement, the corporation said: “while we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted and has left the BBC”.

Mills, 53, only took over the Radio 2 breakfast show from Zoe Ball in January 2025. His audience grew to 6.5 million listeners under his stewardship, making it the UK’s most popular breakfast programme. A tidy outcome, at least until the rest of the story arrived.

He joined Radio 2’s weekday line-up in 2022 when he replaced Steve Wright in the afternoon slot. Before that, he had spent years at Radio 1 and also fronted a weekend programme on Radio 5 Live.

BBC staff told the news by Lorna Clarke

Lorna Clarke, the BBC’s director of music, wrote to staff to say:

“I wanted to personally let you know that Scott Mills has left the breakfast show, and the BBC.

“I know that this news will be sudden and unexpected and therefore must come as a shock. Not least as so many of us have worked with Scott over a great many years, across a broad range of our programmes on R1, 5Live, R2 and TV. I felt it was important to share this news with you at the earliest opportunity.

“Of course, it will also come as a shock to our audience and loyal breakfast show listeners too. I will update everyone with more information on plans for the show when I’m able to. While I appreciate many of you will have questions, I hope you can understand that I am not going to be saying anything.”

On Monday morning, Mills’s slot was filled by Gary Davies, who interviewed The Pitt star Noah Wyle. The BBC has said Davies and OJ Borg, both long-serving hosts, will cover the show temporarily for the next week.

Mills is also due to host the BBC podcast Race Across the World: The Detour and the Pop Top 10 podcast with Rylan for Radio 2, where the pair were set to rank music and pop culture from 29 April onwards.

Sudden removal from the air

The Mirror reported that Mills was taken off his Radio 2 programme last Tuesday while the BBC reviewed the information it had received, and that sources said his contract was ended at the weekend.

A Radio 2 source told Deadline they had been “completely blindsided” by the news.

According to the BBC’s 2024-25 pay report, Mills was paid between £355,000 and £359,999 a year for his work at the corporation.

A long BBC career

Mills first joined Radio 1 in 1998 as host of the early breakfast show, which ran from 4am to 7am. In his autobiography, he later wrote that he had “no personality” on his debut and spent much of the time between songs repeatedly reading out the station phone number. Nobody called, and he said he expected to be sacked within a few months.

In July 2005, he moved into an early evening weekday slot while covering for Sara Cox during her maternity leave. Cox did not return, and the slot became his.

Mills’s departure comes as the BBC continues to deal with a run of high-profile scandals involving current and former figures including Gregg Wallace, Russell Brand and Huw Edwards.

He was dismissed just days before director general Tim Davie was due to leave the BBC, which means any longer-term fallout may end up landing with his successor, Matt Brittin. Convenient timing, if you enjoy inheriting trouble.