The final show began with family voices
The programme did not wait before becoming emotional.
Messages from people closest to Scott and Chris played at the start.
Chris’s family told him how proud they were of what he had achieved since arriving at Radio 1 as the new boy a decade earlier.
Scott’s fiancé Sam and dog Teddy were represented too, with Sam talking about how large a part Radio 1 had played in Scott’s life and how moving it had been to see the response from listeners during the final weeks.
Scott immediately had to take a few deep breaths.
One last musical turned the goodbye into a show tune
West End performer Joe Taylor, who had previously appeared in *Scott Mills: The Musical* at the Edinburgh Festival, returned with a final musical recap.
The song turned the last day into “One Show More”, squeezing in references to Innuendo Bingo, Bamboleo Wednesday, spray tans, Scott moving to Radio 2 and the fact that a Radio 1 career could not continue forever.
It let the programme say some very sentimental things while still hiding behind jokes.
That balance had defined the show for years.
Tony Wood finally appeared and the studio changed name
A long-running behind-the-scenes name then became a real voice on air.
Tony Wood, the operations manager Scott had mentioned for years, came into the studio.
Scott and Chris treated him as a near-mythical figure who somehow made the BBC building function and repeatedly allowed their complicated ideas to happen.
Tony told them how much he admired the way they had used the studio to create comedy day after day.
Then came the surprise.
Scott was told that the studio normally known as 82A would be known as 82 Mills in his honour, complete with a new plaque.
Scott was genuinely shocked.
After 24 years at Radio 1, the naming surprise felt like one of the biggest honours the station could give him on air.
The programme cleared up unfinished business
The last show returned to details which had become running jokes over many years.
Scott and Chris finally revealed the aftershave they had nicknamed “Catnip” after Pixie Lott once complimented Scott on it.
Chris had bought it too, creating the long-running argument revived the previous day with Beccy.
There were also old clips, favourite records and reminders of the bizarre jobs the show had created for itself, from celebrity games to enormous outside broadcasts.
Chris reflected on the life which had changed around the show
Chris looked back at joining Radio 1 when he was a single young presenter and leaving as a husband and father.
He remembered nights out, broadcasting disasters, strange celebrity encounters and the advice Scott had given him long before Radio 1 employed him.
He also imagined passing the lessons of the show to his young son Charlie.
The bit was funny, but the emotion underneath it was obvious.
Radio 1 had covered an enormous section of his adult life.
Each chose one final personal record
Before the actual last song, both presenters selected a record which meant something personally.
Chris chose The Streets’ “Dry Your Eyes”.
Scott chose Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”.
Scott explained that Radio 1 had been the constant through major changes in his life, including coming out, relationships, friendships, loss and career highs and lows.
He also reflected on the fact that he never became the permanent Radio 1 Breakfast Show host, despite conversations about it over the years.
In hindsight, he wondered whether not getting that one job had actually allowed him to stay at the station for far longer.
“Turn on the radio”
Scott’s final speech was not only about his own career.
He spoke to listeners who might feel lonely, lost or convinced there was nothing good around them.
His advice was simple.
Turn on the radio.
For Scott, that had always been the point of the medium.
Somebody was there.
A voice could arrive in an empty room and make the day feel less empty.
That idea mattered more to him than any particular feature or celebrity booking.
Night Changes was the final song
Scott and Chris had spent days keeping the last record secret.
Scott said he had originally come across it late at night in an Instagram reel featuring a dog and sent it to Chris because it unexpectedly made him emotional.
Chris immediately agreed it was the right choice.
The song was One Direction’s “Night Changes”.
It was less obvious than a conventional goodbye anthem, which was exactly why they liked it.
Before it played, Scott and Chris told each other they loved each other.
Scott thanked the audience for listening.
Then came the phrase which had closed the show for years, now used for the final time on Radio 1:
Love you, bye.
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