Vernon Kay is the bookies’ favourite to replace Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show after the presenter was sacked over his ‘personal conduct’.
Mills’s final appearance came on Tuesday, six days before this morning’s announcement that the 53-year-old is ‘no longer contracted’ at the corporation.
His sacking relates to a complaint about a ‘historic male relationship’, according to reports, and the DJ is understood to have been informed over the weekend.
Attention has since turned to who could be Mills’s successor, with a number of high-profile presenters tipped for the role.
Kay, the former host of ITV’s Family Fortunes, is the early bookies’ favourite on William Hill with odds of 6/4 to replace Mills, who was the BBC’s 11th highest-paid star last year.
The 51-year-old would be an in-house appointment for the broadcaster, which he has worked for since 2023 as host of the mid-morning show on Radio 2.
Kay sits just above veteran DJ Gary Davies (5/2) in the bookmakers’ odds list after the 68-year-old stepped in to cover the breakfast show last Wednesday.
Also in the running are Radio 2 overnight presenter OJ Borg (11/4), Saturday radio host Rylan Clark (7/2), Clara Amfo (4/1) and Tony Blackburn (6/1).
While Claudia Winkleman, presenter of BAFTA award-winning show The Traitors, is an outsider at 8/1 along with comedian Joe Wilkinson (10/1) and Alex Horne (20/1).
News of Mills’s sacking broke on Monday with a BBC statement released reading: ‘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 Daily Mirror later reported that the DJ, who is married to long-term partner Sam Vaughan, was axed over a complaint related to a ‘historic male relationship from more than ten years ago’.
He married Vaughan at a star-studded wedding in Barcelona in 2024, the year the couple won Celebrity Race Across The World together. Previously, he had a three-year relationship with Brad Harris, which ended in 2025.
A senior broadcaster at the BBC has said there is ‘total shock’ at the corporation after Mills’s sacking. There were apparently ‘audible gasps’ from staff as they were told on Monday morning in an email from BBC director of music Lorna Clarke.
Mills was fired just six days after he was secretly suspended. He signed off at the end of his Radio 2 show as usual last Tuesday – but he never came back, with Gary Davies stepping in.
Several stars who have spent time with him described him as ‘kind and generous’ and that friends are ‘devastated’ for him. He was described by a radio colleague as ‘hugely popular’ internally.
‘It is not like the BBC to act so fast’, a household name broadcaster told the Daily Mail.
Another source claimed that wild rumours are flying around Broadcasting House about the reason for his sacking.
‘No suspension period or prolonged investigation does not bode well’, another insider said.
BBC News’ Senior UK Correspondent Sima Kotecha said on the channel this afternoon that Mills’s sacking is the biggest departure since Huw Edwards left in 2024.
‘Now this is mega news. We heard gasps in the newsroom when people realised that he had been sacked,’ she said.
‘We don’t know why he’s been sacked but we do know that it will surely be unwelcome news. The fact that the bosses had to do this means there must be something potentially very significant here to let one of their big names go.
‘As I said, this is a huge name in the BBC. We know what happened to Huw Edwards and how he left the organisation because of what he had done. We are now asking questions about another mega star at the BBC who was on between £355,000 to £359,000 per year. This will be unwelcome news. There will be many questions.’
Radio 2 listeners are also in shock.
As he handed over on what was to become his final show, Mills joked about waxing his legs and doing Stars In Their Eyes with fellow Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay, before signing off with: ‘See you tomorrow.’
Davies did not address the reason for Mills’s absence when he began Wednesday’s show, telling listeners: ‘Morning, Gary in for Scott.’
News of Mills’s sacking led the 12pm bulletin on his former station BBC Radio 2.
At the start of his show on BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine said he was ‘taken aback’ by the news about Scott Mills. He said: ‘Obviously, I was taken aback by that opening story to the news.
‘I had not heard anything about it until 17 minutes ago, when it was on the BBC website, and I only had the information that was given to you in the bulletin, I have nothing more, that it was allegations about Scott Mills’s personal conduct, which have led to him being sacked.
‘I have no more than that. Alright, on to today’s show.’
Ms Clarke, Director of Music, told BBC staff in an email: ‘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.’
The DJ, from Southampton, began his BBC career on Radio 1 in the late 1990s as the early breakfast host, before going on to present weekend slots and then an early evening show while providing maternity cover for Sara Cox. When Cox did not return, the programme was renamed The Scott Mills Show.
In 2022, he joined Radio 2, replacing Steve Wright in his weekday afternoon slot.
He has presented a number of shows on the station before taking up the Breakfast Show after Ball’s departure.
He has also presented a weekend show on Radio 5 Live and appeared on series 12 of Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with professional dancer Joanne Clifton, becoming the fifth couple to be eliminated.
Mills has also been a commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest on the BBC – raising the possibility it will be forced to find a replacement for this year’s event.
His departure comes just weeks before Google executive Matt Brittin is due to start as the BBC’s new director general – replacing Tim Davie.
