Scott Mills Photo Sparks Chaos at BBC

At any other time it would have been an entirely uncontroversial photograph – a black and white shot of former Radio 2 breakfast host Scott Mills hand in hand with his husband.

Taken on Scott’s wedding day to Sam Vaughan in June 2024, it shows the couple walking through a flurry of rose petals just after they said ‘I do’ at a star-studded ceremony in Barcelona.

Posted by Sam this week, he captioned the image ‘2 years’ alongside a heart emoji to mark their second anniversary.

Not only was this photo significant because of the couple’s personal landmark, but it was also their first post since the DJ was sensationally sacked by the in March after bosses discovered that historic sexual abuse allegations against him involved a teenager.

That’s not all, though. Scroll through the comments under the post and it becomes evident why it carries even broader significance – so much so that BBC managers are said to have no idea how to deal with its consequences.

For among those wishing the couple a happy anniversary were the so-called Big Four of BBC radio – , , and Sara Cox, who is about to step into Scott’s shoes as his replacement on the breakfast show.

Zoe, who preceded Scott in the job, wrote ‘love you’ followed by four red-heart emojis. Rylan placed eight hearts, while Jeremy, who hosts the 12pm to 2pm slot, said: ‘Sending love to you both.’ Sara also posted four red-heart emojis.

Others to share the love included Rob Rinder, influencer Kate Lawler, actress Natalie Cassidy, Radio 1 presenter Vick Hope and her DJ husband Calvin Harris. Even legendary Radio 2 DJ ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris left a warm message.

For so many BBC figures of high standing to leave such public affirmations of support is, say insiders, the equivalent of questioning the decision to sack Scott – if not disagreeing with it outright.

‘There is already a feeling of mutiny,’ says a Radio 2 source. ‘He has so many friends in front of the microphone and behind it at the BBC and they are not frightened to support him whatsoever.’

Little wonder that all this is described as a ‘massive headache’ for the corporation. ‘It’s so embarrassing for the BBC. We’ve all known behind the scenes that some of the biggest stars are bewildered at the sacking – but now it’s public.

‘[His supporters] knew their comments on Sam’s post were going to be picked up and make headlines,’ my source says. ‘That shows just how much the likes of Sara, Rylan and Jeremy are sticking by their friend and don’t care what their employers think.’

I’m told that this growing support is causing great discomfort among executives at Radio 2 – especially because many of the bosses themselves have also now taken the view that Scott’s super-swift sacking was a mistake.

‘It’s total humiliation for management,’ my source says. ‘All his supporters have given the strongest indicator yet that the BBC made the wrong judgment call to get rid of Scott, and they may rue the day they did.

‘It hasn’t gone as they would have expected. There couldn’t be less support for his sacking. You literally cannot find anyone within Radio 2 or the BBC who agrees with it. It’s a disaster.’

Scott’s celebrity cheerleaders came to the fore just as he decided to take legal action against his employer of 28 years, insisting he was unfairly dismissed.

The BBC fired him after it discovered he had been questioned in 2018 over alleged events that took place a decade earlier with an individual then aged under 16.

In 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case against him due to lack of evidence. But the BBC fired him, meaning he lost his show and his role hosting the Eurovision semi-finals.

While the BBC was aware of the allegations when they were made, the current management is said not to have been known the alleged victim’s age until March.

This was the catalyst for the decision to sack him. Scott’s legal team at the London firm Level Law has been corresponding with the BBC for weeks. Sources suggest the battle ‘might just be going Scott’s way’.

He was reportedly sacked days after a man approached BBC bosses after watching Channel 5’s drama Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards and informed them that the youngster at the centre of the allegations against Scott was under 16.

Former director general Tim Davie told staff at the time that new information had come to light that made the broadcaster’s course of action ‘very clear’.

The BBC said in a statement that it ‘obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts’.

This enraged Scott’s backers. ‘Literally everyone connected to Scott totally disagrees with this,’ said a BBC source at the time.

BBC insiders say Davie acted to ‘sweep the place up’ before his successor Matt Brittin took over.

But as one source points out, it had the opposite effect, landing Brittin with a messy legal battle that Scott is determined to win.

Others point out that Davie did not apply the same rules to others at the BBC. Most notoriously, Huw Edwards remained employed for a significant period despite a young man’s family claiming he had been groomed by the ex-newsreader.

Then there was Gregg Wallace, who prompted 85 complaints of misconduct while hosting MasterChef – with 45 of them upheld.

And former Radio Wales DJ Wynne Evans got a role on Strictly in 2024 even though he had been investigated over claims of misconduct during his time working in Cardiff.