Scott Mills, the Radio 2 presenter, has been sacked by the BBC over allegations about his personal conduct said to be linked to a “historic relationship”.
The dismissal of the breakfast show host, less than a week after he was taken off air, was described by BBC bosses as “sudden and unexpected”.
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.”
The announcement came during Tim Davie’s last week as director-general, a tenure that has been mired by scandals involving the former presenters Huw Edwards, Russell Brand, Jermaine Jenas and Gregg Wallace.
Mills and Ball after she announced she was stepping down from the breakfast showjames manning/PA
The Mirror reported that the allegation against Mills, 53, related to “a relationship dating back more than ten years”. According to the paper, Mills was told his contract was terminated at the weekend.
Mills last appeared on the Radio 2 breakfast show on Tuesday last week, ending the programme saying he would be “back tomorrow”. The following morning Gary Davies started the show saying he was “in for Scott Mills”.
Mills took over the flagship Radio 2 breakfast show, which has an average weekly audience of 6.47 million, from Zoe Ball in 2025. He previously presented on Radio 1. He was the 11th highest-paid presenter at the BBC, earning between £315,000 and £319,999, in the 2023-24 financial year.
Staff at the BBC expressed their shock at the announcement.
In an email sent to staff on Monday morning, Lorna Clarke, director of music at the BBC, said: “I know that this news will be sudden and unexpected and therefore must come as a shock … 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 further now.”
Mills was the BBC’s 11th highest paid presenterPA
Presenting on Radio 2 at lunchtime on Monday, Jeremy Vine said after Mills’s sacking led the midday news bulletin: “Obviously, I was taken aback by that opening story to the news.”
Sima Kotecha, a BBC News correspondent, later said on air: “This is mega news. We heard gasps in the newsroom when people realised that he had been sacked.”
Others noted the timing before Davie’s last day on Thursday. The director-general resigned in November after President Trump accused the BBC of “doctoring” footage of his January 6, 2021, speech in a documentary.
The accusation of bias followed the suspension and later guilty plea of the former newsreader Edwards for making indecent images of children; an internal review into “workplace culture” after allegations against the comedian Brand; the dismissal of the Match of the Day presenter Jenas for “inappropriate behaviour”; and a misconduct investigation into the MasterChef presenter Wallace.
Davie said in March that the role was “not for the faint-hearted”. Matt Brittin, a former Google executive, will take over from Davie next month.
Mills, from Southampton, became the youngest radio presenter in the UK when he joined his local station Power FM aged 16. After stints at other regional stations, he joined the BBC in 1998, presenting the early breakfast show on Radio 1 and then The Scott Mills Show before joining Radio 2 in 2022. He has also hosted The Official Chart Show and Eurovision.
Mills competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and won Celebrity Race Across the World with his husband, Scott Vaughn, in 2024. Mills described competing on the reality show with Vaughn, who is in his thirties, as the “ultimate test of our relationship”. The pair married the same year.
Mills has campaigned frequently for better mental health support and has been open about his own problems, including suffering panic attacks and a history of depression in his family. He told The Times last year: “I still get a little wave [of anxiety] every now and again. I’m just an anxious person. I used to suffer terribly with it and I seem to be able to handle it better now.”
Mills has also spoken publicly about how he turned to alcohol at the age of 26 after the death of his former boyfriend, Mitch, in 2001. He told Now magazine in 2012: “One morning I went on air drunk. That could have been a massive f***-up for me. Even I would’ve sacked me. But thank God for Radio 1 — they knew about Mitch and why I was having a bad time. It was a proper wake-up call.”
Mills’s agent was approached for comment.