Scott Mills is reportedly preparing to take legal action against the BBC following his dismissal from the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
The Daily Mirror reports that the presenter has instructed lawyers and is considering an unfair dismissal claim against the corporation. The report has subsequently been followed by outlets including the Evening Standard and The Telegraph.
According to the Mirror, Mills is expected to argue that BBC management had previously been told the full details of a historic police investigation, including the age of the person who made the allegation.
The BBC has said it was aware of the police investigation but acted after receiving “new information” shortly before terminating Mills’ contract in March.
However, sources close to the presenter reportedly claim that the relevant information had already been disclosed to BBC Radio 1 management when the investigation was taking place.
Neither Mills nor his legal representatives appear to have publicly confirmed that a claim has formally been submitted. The BBC has not commented on the reports of potential legal action.
Historic police investigation
Mills was interviewed under caution in 2018 as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations of historic serious sexual offences involving a boy aged under 16.
The alleged incidents were said to have taken place between 1997 and 2000.
A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, but prosecutors concluded that the evidential threshold required to bring charges had not been met. The police investigation was closed in 2019 and Mills was not charged.
Following his departure from the BBC, Mills released a statement through his lawyers confirming that the investigation related to him.
He said he had fully cooperated with the police and asked that his privacy be respected, given that the allegations dated back almost 30 years and the investigation had concluded seven years earlier.
Mills also thanked his former colleagues, listeners and those who had contacted him with messages of support.
BBC said it received new information
The BBC initially confirmed only that Mills was “no longer contracted” to work for the corporation.
It later acknowledged that it had known about the police investigation several years earlier, but said new information had subsequently emerged and that it had acted decisively in accordance with its culture and values.
Reports at the time suggested the new information concerned the age of the person involved in the allegations.
The central issue in any potential legal dispute may therefore be whether that information had already been disclosed to the BBC, as Mills is now reported to maintain.
An unnamed source quoted by the Mirror said the dispute could become “very messy indeed”.
Mills removed from other roles
Since leaving the BBC, Mills has been removed from a number of planned appearances and professional roles.
Channel 4 decided not to broadcast an episode of The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer featuring Mills, citing the seriousness of the allegations.
He was also removed from scheduled summer DJ appearances and from his role presenting a BBC podcast connected to Race Across the World.
Mills stepped back from his position as an ambassador for the MS Society, while Neuroblastoma UK announced that it had parted ways with him as a patron.
The latest reports represent the first indication that Mills may formally challenge the circumstances surrounding the end of his long BBC career.
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1998, moved to Radio 2 in 2022 and took over its Breakfast Show in January 2025.
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