Scott Mills Police Investigation 2018 Sacked BBC Radio 2

Published: March 31, 2026. The English Chronicle Desk.

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The BBC has been plunged into a fresh internal crisis following the revelation that veteran broadcaster Scott Mills was previously questioned under caution regarding allegations of “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy. The news follows Mills’ abrupt dismissal from his £355,000-a-year role as the host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday, March 30. While the BBC initially cited “personal conduct” for the sacking, subsequent reports have linked the decision to a complaint regarding a police investigation that was quietly closed in 2019 due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

According to a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police, the investigation began in December 2016 following a referral from another force. The allegations concerned incidents reported to have taken place between 1997 and 2000, a period during which Mills was rising to prominence as a staple of the Radio 1 schedule. As part of the multi-year inquiry, Mills—who was in his 40s at the time of the interview—was questioned under caution in July 2018. Although a full file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the case was dropped in May 2019 after prosecutors determined the “evidential threshold had not been met” to bring formal charges.

The fallout from these historic allegations has been swift. Mills, 53, who took over the prestigious breakfast slot from Zoe Ball in early 2025, signed off his show last Tuesday, March 24, with his usual “See you tomorrow.” However, he was pulled from the airwaves the following morning. By Monday, March 30, the BBC confirmed his contract had been terminated with immediate effect.

The BBC Stance: A spokesperson stated, “While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted to work with the BBC.”
Internal Shock: Senior BBC sources described being “completely blindsided” by the move, noting that Mills had just grown the show’s audience to a record 6.5 million listeners.

The dismissal of one of the BBC’s most recognizable voices comes during the final week of Tim Davie’s tenure as Director-General. Davie, who announced his resignation late last year, has spent much of his term attempting to overhaul the corporation’s culture following the scandals involving figures like Huw Edwards and Tim Westwood. The decision to sack Mills—despite the police case being closed years ago—suggests a new, “zero-tolerance” approach to conduct that may impact the BBC’s ability to retain talent amid the $116 oil price economic squeeze and the rise of competitor platforms.

As the Easter bank holiday approaches, Radio 2 has confirmed that Gary Davies and OJ Borg will temporarily fill the breakfast slot. For the wider media industry, the “Scott Mills Affair” serves as a stark reminder of the long shadow cast by historic allegations in the post-Savile era. While the legal system may have found the evidence wanting, the “court of internal conduct” at the BBC appears to have reached a much more definitive conclusion.

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