I know that this news will be sudden and unexpected and therefore must come as a shock,” Lorna Clark, the director of music at the BBC, wrote in an email to staff on Monday morning. She was announcing the sacking of Scott Mills, a long-term BBC DJ who, in January last year, was given the Radio 2 breakfast slot, often seen as the crown jewel of British radio broadcasting. Today, it has emerged that Mills was investigated by the police in 2016 after allegations of “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy, dating back to the late Nineties. The news has blindsided Mills’ colleagues, the rest of the UK’s media and his fans, as for years Mills has been seen as a steady voice through a tumultuous period for BBC radio.
Born in 1973 in Southampton, Mills joined the BBC in 1998 as part of the roster for its youth-focused station, Radio 1. Before then he has toured regional stations – from Hampshire to Manchester, via a stint in Bristol – honing his easy, affable persona. In 24 years at Radio 1, he watched on, apparently uncomplaining, as contemporaries like Zoe Ball, Sara Cox and Chris Moyles got the plum breakfast show gig. His afternoon show – a milder, less raucous affair – cemented Mills’ reputation as the station’s Steady Eddie who would frequently stand in during colleagues’ absences, without risking stealing their thunder. “It’s about comfort, not chaos,” he reflected on his style, last year, during a radio masterclass.
