The BBC has been racked by 48 hours of ‘shock’ and ‘utter confusion’. On Monday it was announced that popular presenter Scott Mills, who had worked at the corporation for almost three decades, had been sacked.
As an email announcing his dismissal was sent around Broadcasting House by the director of music, Lorna Clarke, audible gasps could be heard.
It became clear that the 53-year-old had been removed from his job presenting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show when it emerged he had been subject to a 2016 Metropolitan Police investigation relating to serious sexual offences against a boy under the age of 16.
Mills was cleared by the Crown Prosecution Service three years later for lack of sufficient evidence. In the eyes of the law, he is guilty of nothing.
But BBC bosses appear to have been sufficiently concerned by the historic claims to take decisive action, although no further explanation has been given.
‘No one had any hint there was anything going on,’ a BBC insider told the Daily Mail.
‘He was the loveliest, most genuine person, it’s hit us all for six.’
Among the many questions being asked by colleagues and licence-fee payers alike, there is also this: where is Mills’ longstanding Radio 2 co-host and close friend Tina Daheley?
The pair have worked together on the station since Mills accepted the Breakfast Show role in January 2025 – and Tina hasn’t been on air since her ‘work husband’ Scott was sacked.
‘Questions are being asked as to where Tina is,’ said our insider.
‘But the general feeling is that it’s probably for the best.
‘There would have been pressure to answer uncomfortable questions from everyone.’
Tina, 44, began working at the BBC in 2007. In 2019, she moved from a Radio 1 slot with Nick Grimshaw and joined Radio 2, working alongside Zoe Ball, until Mills took over.
In January this year Tina posted on Instagram about how much she loved her ‘Radio 2 family’ sharing a photo of her with Mills and the rest of the team.
She hasn’t posted anything since he was removed from air.
Other BBC Radio presenters and friends of Mills such as Rylan Clark, Romesh Ranganathan and Greg James, have opted for rare social media silence too, as has Mills’ close friend and former co-host, Capital presenter Chris Stark.
It has been a very uncomfortable start to the week for the BBC’s biggest stars.
As the news broke on Monday afternoon that Scott Mills had been sacked, his celebrity pals and media friends made it clear they had been ‘blindsided’.
BBC’s Graham Norton had been working on rival ITV promoting a new show and, according to insiders, had known ‘absolutely nothing’ and had to be ‘briefed urgently’.
Former BBC Radio DJ Nihal Arthanayake, who had worked with Scott, said he was ‘shocked’.
Fellow Radio 2 presenter Dermot O’Leary said on ITV’s This Morning: ‘This was a complete shock to everyone. It came from nowhere.’
It’s now been revealed that Mills was spoken to by BBC executives on Monday afternoon.
It’s not just Radio 2 that has been plunged into chaos.
EastEnders writers have been left ‘fuming’ after realising Mills’ sacking could disrupt the soap because they had planned to use his voice in a future episode, in what they’re calling a ‘worst case scenario’ for producers.
Not only that, but he is also set to appear on Channel 4’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer next month – forcing bosses into meetings.
Other industry rumours suggest he might have been lined up for the next season of the BBC’s beloved Celebrity Traitors.
Earlier this month, he took part in a Red Nose Day sketch alongside BBC friends Ruby Wax, Fleur East and Vicky Pattison.
Last night it appeared that his Mercedes-Benz Vans Under the Bonnet: On the Road podcast, had been taken off of Spotify, and that his ‘Scott Mills Top Picks’ had been removed from the BBC iPlayer.
It was also announced that Mills’ Radio 2 pal Sara Cox would replace him for Eurovision coverage. He had presented the show since 2011.
Sara will be joined by Rylan for the competition in May and will commentate at the Semi Finals for BBC One, and the Grand Final for BBC Radio 2.
Meanwhile on Mills’ social media, he turned off his comment section to prevent a barrage of messages and false narratives which media circles are now referring to rather scathingly as, the ‘Rumour Mills’.
