Scott Mills was fired by the BBC after ‘compelling’ new evidence from an underage accuser emerged a decade after a police probe, it has been claimed.
Corporation chiefs felt they had ‘no choice’ but to dismiss Radio 2’s flagship morning show host after fresh information about his alleged conduct, according to reports.
It comes as concerns were raised by friends as he was avoiding phone calls and had ‘gone to ground’ following Monday’s announcement by the BBC.
Mills, 53, was sacked after 27 years with the corporation – and it has since been revealed he was investigated then cleared over allegations of ‘serious sexual offences’ against a boy under the age of 16 between 1997 and 2000.
Hampshire Police said the sexual offences allegations were first reported by a third party in 2016 and that the force logged the details and passed on information to the Metropolitan Police for investigation.
The Met confirmed they questioned Mills over the accusations when reported to them that year, but the Crown Prosecution Service found there was not enough evidence and closed the case in 2019.
The BBC has declined to say why he was dismissed other than that it was related to his ‘personal conduct’ – but is facing questions as to why he was kept on air despite reportedly knowing he was interviewed under caution between 2018 and 2019.
Now new information is said to have been passed to the BBC relating to the same alleged victim but different to previous claims.
Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills was fired by the BBC after ‘compelling’ new evidence from an underage accuser emerged a decade after a police probe, it has been claimed
Mills (pictured in August 2024), 53, was sacked after 27 years with the corporation
BBC chiefs are said to have looked into the fresh details over recent days ‘and decided he had to go’, the Mirror reported.
Meanwhile, it was suggested Mills told the BBC in 2018 he had been questioned by police – with the Sun quoting a source as saying: ‘The BBC knew Scott had been questioned by police, he told them. Scott said he denied the allegations that had been made against him.’
TV presenter Piers Morgan posted on X: ‘I don’t understand. He was investigated by police 10yrs ago over alleged offences 25+ years ago, but no action was taken and case was closed.
‘Now he gets instantly fired over same thing? The BBC needs to explain why, surely?’
Media expert and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail: ‘The BBC need to come clean about what exactly they know about the alleged investigation into Mills, otherwise there will be backlash from listeners who are confused why he has been sacked for something that happened 10 years ago.’
The Daily Mail revealed this week how the complaint sparking Mills’ axeing was thought to have come from someone inspired to speak out again this year following the recent Channel 5 docudrama about disgraced ex-BBC newsreader Huw Edwards.
One BBC executive in London told the Daily Mail there was a real belief among bosses at the corporation that the timing was ‘not a coincidence’.
Channel 5 documentary Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards was broadcast released last week and detailed the downfall of the former BBC news anchor.
Mills was sacked six days after his final Radio 2 breakfast show last Tuesday
A source said: ‘The Huw Edwards drama showed that there could be a reckoning.’
Former BBC News main presenter Edwards received a six-month suspended sentence after admitting three charges of making indecent images of children.
Edwards, who criticised the programme in an angry statement to the Mail last month, was portrayed in the Channel 5 drama by Martin Clunes.
The ex-newscaster has ‘liked’ a LinkedIn post sympathising with the ‘stressful’ situation Mills faces.
Meanwhile, Mills is reportedly not taking calls from his worried friends following his dismissal.
A source was quoted by the Mirror as saying he had ‘gone to ground’ since the decision was made and friends were ‘struggling to contact him’, adding: ‘The show was his life and he is facing oblivion.’
It has also been suggested his close friends and acquaintances were ‘left totally blindsided by events of the last few days’ and that they knew nothing about his sacking until Monday nor the police investigation back in 2016.
It has also been announced that children’s cancer charity Neuroblastoma UK has decided to ‘part ways’ with Mills, who had been a patron since 2021.
A statement from the charity said: ‘Following his dismissal from the BBC, Neuroblastoma UK have taken the decision to part ways with Scott Mills, and he is no longer a patron of our charity.
‘We have communicated this decision to Scott and his team, and would like to thank him for his support to date.
‘We remain unwavering in our mission to fund research to find better treatments, and a cure, for neuroblastoma.’
Jeremy Vine has called the sacking of his BBC Radio 2 colleague Mills ‘unfair’ as he insisted on his own Tuesday show: ‘There’s been no crime.’
Mills married his long-term partner Sam Vaughan at a celebrity-studded wedding in Barcelona in 2024. They are pictured with their dog
Vine, who hosts a daily Radio 2 show dissecting the day’s headlines, shared his upset over Mills’ exit – while suggesting bosses had got rid of him due to regrets over failing to handle the behaviour of Huw Edwards.
The presenter said: ‘Huw Edwards couldn’t be sacked because he was in a fragile mental state, and everything I have read about Scott’s history today goes back to his own anxiety and depression but there doesn’t seem to be the same break cut for him’.
Vine was among the BBC correspondents expressing their shock following Monday’s announcement by the BBC of Mills’ dismissal.
He began his Tuesday show by saying to listeners: ‘Scott Mills’ sacking has left a lot of people very confused. What do you make of it? I’d love to know.
‘We heard the news just before 12 yesterday here at Radio 2 – it came as a complete shock to those of us who work at the station, the presenter of our breakfast show Scott Mills had been sacked over allegations, we’re told, related to his personal conduct.’
Later in the programme, Vine added: ‘It’s a very painful episode for anyone who knows Scott – he’s a very popular guy in the building.’
Vine also spoke to the BBC’s media and culture editor Katie Razzell, who said she had put ‘a series of questions’ to bosses about Mills’ sacking – in particular whether they were aware of any previous police investigation into him.
Police have said a man, in his 40s at the time of the 2016 interview, was investigated that year over allegations of serious sexual offences between 1997 and 2000. He was questioned by police under caution in July 2018.
Scott Mills and his husband Sam Vaughan last April. They married in 2024 after appearing on BBC’s reality show Celebrity Race Across the World
Mills was not charged with a criminal offence and the case was closed due to lack of evidence.
The Metropolitan Police does not identify people who are subject to an investigation before any charges are brought.
A spokesperson said: ‘In December 2016, the Met began an investigation following a referral from another police force.
‘The investigation related to allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy. These were reported to have taken place between 1997 and 2000.
‘As part of these inquiries, a man who was in his 40s at the time of the interview was questioned by police under caution in July 2018.
‘A full file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who determined the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. Following this advice, the investigation was closed in May 2019.’
Scotland Yard confirmed the boy was under 16.
In an email sent to staff on Monday, BBC director of music Lorna Clarke wrote: ‘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 further now.”
The BBC said it would not comment beyond an earlier statement saying: ‘While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted to work with the BBC.”
The corporation has also issued an apology for not following up after a separate allegation of ‘inappropriate communications’ by Mills was raised by a journalist last year.
The BBC said: ‘We received a press query in 2025 which included limited information. This should have been followed up and we should have asked further questions. 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.’
The teenage boy who accused Mills of serious sexual offences in the 1990s was under 16 at the time, it was revealed (Mills is seen in 2009)
Mills has not commented since his sacking.
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1998 from Heart 106.2, where he started in 1995 after working in local radio in Hampshire, Bristol and Manchester.
He rose through the ranks from the early breakfast show in 1998 to the afternoon slot vacated by Sara Cox in 2004.
Renamed The Scott Mills Show, it ran from 2004 until 2022, when Mills jumped ship to Radio 2, where he replaced Steve Wright on his afternoon slot.
He landed the coveted Radio 2 Breakfast Show role in January last year when he took over from Zoe Ball.
He has previously appeared as a contestant on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2011 and ITV’s The Masked Singer last year, as well as presenting Eurovision coverage and taking part in the BBC’s Race Around The World with husband Sam Vaughan.
