Scott Mills has responded to his sacking from the BBC and reports that he was the subject of a police investigation into a historic sexual offence.
The radio DJ had hosted Radio 2’s Breakfast Show since January 2025, having previously taken over the afternoon slot from the late Steve Wright. Prior to that, he worked on BBC Radio 1 from 1998 onwards, and also hosted that station’s Official Chart show between 2018 and 2022.
It was confirmed on Monday (March 31) that Mills had been sacked over allegations relating to his “personal conduct”. His last programme was aired on March 24 and though Mills said he’d be “back tomorrow”, he was absent the following day and replaced by Gary Davies, with no reason given for why.
It was subsequently reported that Mills’ sudden dismissal from the BBC related to him being probed by police in 2016 over “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy.
Later, the corporation admitted that concerns about “inappropriate communications” involving Mills had been raised last year. “This should have been followed up and we should have asked further questions,” the BBC said.
“We apologise for this and will look into why this did not happen. More broadly, we would always urge anyone who has concerns or information to raise it with us.”
Now, Mills has addressed the reports more directly.
‘The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation,” the statement began.
“‘An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018.
‘As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.
‘Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.’
Earlier today, the BBC confirmed they had “obtained new information” relating to a past investigation into Mills’ conduct.
“Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many,” it began.
“We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.”
The message went on: “What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March. The BBC has made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards.”
It added: “Last year, following an independent culture review, we set out the behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC and we were clear action would be taken if these were not met.”
The new message then “separately” confirmed that “the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made”.
It concluded: “We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”