Gary Davies
The was plunged into fresh scandal yesterday as Mills, one of its most high-profile radio stars, was sensationally axed.
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show host was hauled off air last Tuesday and his contract was then terminated after a 'tense meeting' with BBC bosses over his 'personal conduct'.
The allegations against Mills, 53, are thought to date back a decade to his time on Radio 1, with reports suggesting they involve a 'historic relationship'.
Experienced DJ Davies, 68, has stepped in to host the show since Mills' departure last week and is scheduled to host for at least the next week as the broadcaster scrambles to find a permanent replacement.
Davies was introduced on Tuesday morning's show with his own Breakfast Show jingle, asking listeners to message in with what 'you have already accomplished so far this morning?' before heading straight to a string of songs.
There was also no mention of Mills in the 7am news bulletin but the 7:30am update
Gary Davies opened the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Tuesday morning with no mention of his sacked colleague Scott Mills
Davies later read out a message from one fan praising his Breakfast Show stint, which read: 'Top Of The Pop in the eighties was my favourite era and now you're waking me up in the morning, what could be better?'
The DJ littered the first thirty minutes of his show with plugs for Radio 2's Eurovision coverage, an awkward moment as Mills is one of the BBC's long-standing Eurovision commentators.
Listeners were bemused by the BBC's failure to address Mills' exit, with one posting on X: 'Radio 2 going for the Basil Fawlty approach this morning. Don't mention the war! Curious item missing from the news bulletins.'
'Gary Davies desperately playing records non-stop. No discussion between any presenters.'
Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s presenter Davies has previously provided holiday cover for other Radio 2 DJs and temporarily took over Pick Of The Pops following the 2024 death of Steve Wright.
One of the Corporation's highest-paid stars, who earned up to £360,000 a year, Mills's departure has caused 'absolute chaos' at Radio 2, insiders told the Daily Mail, with colleagues 'in shock' and bosses .
A source explained how Mills was called in for a meeting after an allegation was made against him last Tuesday.
'He was taken off air from Radio 2 the following day and his contract was terminated at the weekend. It was a very fast process between the complaint being raised and Scott leaving. It happened in less than five days,' the insider has told The Sun.
Experienced DJ Davies, 68, has stepped into host the show since Mills' departure last week and is scheduled to host for at least the next week
A source close to Mills said: 'Scott was told about the allegation in a meeting with senior staff present. He was tense.
'He has completely shut down now and no one can get hold of him. No calls, no messages — nothing. The people who know him are blindsided by all of this.'
Last night the Daily Mirror reported the decision to fire Mills came after a 2016 police investigation into 'serious sexual offences' against a teenage boy.
It claimed the DJ was questioned at the time but the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. The newspaper alleged his sacking related to the same individual.
Mills is the latest in a string of stars to lose their jobs at the scandal-ridden BBC. His ousting follows the exit of news anchor Huw Edwards, along with MasterChef pair Gregg Wallace and John Torode, in the past two years.
It is believed the unceremonious firing, announced with a curt public statement yesterday morning, was one of the last acts of director-general Tim Davie, who wanted to 'clear the decks' before leaving his post on Thursday.
Mr Davie, who himself resigned after it emerged that footage of a speech made by US President Donald Trump had been edited and spliced together in an episode of Panorama, wanted one last roll of the dice, an insider said.
But he will be leaving interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies, and permanent replacement Matt Brittin, with a major headache as the race is on to find a replacement for Mills or risk losing listeners.
The biggest breakfast show in the country currently brings in a weekly audience of some 6.5million, after listeners lost under Mills's predecessor Zoe Ball returned.
A source explained how Mills was called in for a 'tense' meeting with senior staff at the BBC after an allegation was made against him last Tuesday
Mills's team are said to be taking legal advice in the wake of his sacking.
Last night, a Metropolitan Police spokesman 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 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.'
A representative for Mills declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail.
In an internal note to staff yesterday morning, Lorna Clarke, the Corporation's director of music, said: '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 Radio 1, Radio 5 Live, Radio 2 and TV. I felt it was important to share this news with you at the earliest opportunity.'
She said it would 'come as a shock to our audience and loyal breakfast show listeners too' as she promised to update everyone with 'more information on plans for the show when I'm able to'.
She added: '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.'
In a statement, the BBC said: 'While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted to work with the BBC.'
Mills's final show aired last Tuesday - following his presenting stint on BBC's Comic Relief the previous Friday - and he signed off by telling listeners: 'See you tomorrow.' Just six days later, Mills was gone from the job.
