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Tights on heads and internet behaviour Wednesday kicked off with Scott very much aware that the internet had been busy the day before — especially after a video of him with tights on his head surfaced overnight. Ellie was clear it was “terrifying” as a first-thing-in-the-morning watch, while Scott insisted it was simply “a new trend” involving putting tights over your head and trying to blow out a candle. Tina immediately wanted answers about why there were tights in Scott’s house at all, only for Scott to calmly explain, “I’ve just done panto. I’ve got a lot of tights.” Listener Kate summed up the collective reaction perfectly, saying Scott and Sam had her “absolutely howling,” though Scott conceded it’s “a lot to watch” before you’ve fully woken up. The Traitors, showers, and playing a blinder With The Traitors entering its final week, Scott found himself unable to let something go — not the secret traitors, not the untouched breakfast buffets, but the relentless overuse of one phrase. “She’s playing a blinder,” “absolute blinder,” “playing a blinding game” — Scott counted it happening “roughly five or six times an episode.” Ellie immediately clocked that now it’s been mentioned, it’s impossible to unhear, much like last series’ obsession with “I voted for myself.” Texts flooded in agreeing, with listeners also flagging “I’ve got heat on me” and “100% faithful” as phrases pushing people over the edge. Scott even threatened to write to Points of View, not about the language alone but also the constant shower shots, declaring them “gratuitous” and insisting, “It’s a classy show. Let’s keep it that way.” Naturally, the team couldn’t resist remixing the phrase into a full-blown Traitors-style montage. “Honestly, blinder,” became the catchphrase of the morning — again. Tina’s radio highlight and the hole in the wall Scott revealed his radio highlight of the previous day was Tina on Jeremy Vine’s show, specifically a live cross to a literal hole in a wall in Ilkeston that’s become a tourist attraction. Tina described children diving through it on their way to school, before reporter Matt was instructed to do exactly that — promptly disappearing mid-cross. “Matt’s just dived through the famous Nat West hole… and we have yet to hear from him again,” became an instant classic, with Scott admitting he’d rewound it several times on BBC Sounds just to relive the chaos. Sound baths and the Good Morning Minute Inspired by listener Leslie, 51, heading to her first sound bath of the year, Scott floated the idea of a breakfast show team bonding session that involved not talking. Ellie immediately questioned whether that defeated the point of a team activity, but Scott was keen, especially after Charlotte Church’s previous enthusiasm for sound baths. Listeners confirmed it can work as a group activity, which only encouraged him further. The Good Morning Minute delivered the usual mix of school runs, scrapyards, holidays, slow cookers and sunbathing in Goa — with Scott threatening to fetch a “tiny violin” for anyone texting in from a beach. Pause for Thought and a very practical gift Steve Chalk arrived for Pause for Thought with an unexpected present: a portable Blu-ray/DVD player, solving Scott’s long-running problem of owning many DVDs but nothing to play them on. Steve explained it was partly inspired by Scott mentioning he’d never seen Love Actually, prompting Scott to declare him “one of my favourite Pause for Thoughts.” Steve’s reflection focused on the loss of his friend Pete Meadows, exploring grief, hope and the idea that “though death might end a life, it doesn’t need to end a relationship.” Scott thanked him for something both “lovely” and “positive,” before happily noting he could now finally watch his DVDs. The Easiest Quiz: porridge-gate Ellen from Scarborough took on the Easiest Quiz with confidence, casually mentioning she once shared a hot tub with James Morrison in Melbourne — strictly no photos. She powered through the questions, complete with enthusiastic animal noises, but controversy erupted when she answered that you put milk on porridge. The quiz room descended into chaos, with Scott arguing that if it says “porridge” on the packet, then adding milk absolutely counts. Despite falling just short, Ellen racked up an impressive 41 points, prompting Scott to admit his heart rate had been higher than hers by the end. The porridge debate rumbled on via texts for the rest of the hour. Tony Blackburn: pure radio joy Just after 8, Scott finally got his dream moment as Tony Blackburn joined him in the studio, record box in hand. Tony took over with half an hour of soul classics, including Four Tops, James Ingram and Michael McDonald, while casually announcing he invented the radio time check back in 1964. Scott, understandably, was beside himself with joy. Listeners texted in groan-worthy jokes, Tony reminisced, and Scott admitted he was “DJ-ing for his life.” It was one of those mornings where you could hear the grin through the speakers The handover “We’ve had to move studios twice today — it’s like the hokey-cokey in here,” laughed Scott, before handing over with a cheerful goodbye that felt very much earned after a show that had, in Scott’s own words, been “playing a blinder.” The post 21 January 2026: Playing a blinder, tights on heads and Tony Blackburn joy first appeared on Unofficial Mills.View the full article

Phil Williams in for OJ this evening.

Here's a show that turns 20 years old tomorrow. They are like time capsules listening back to them.

“Is that Jill from the quiz?” Scott opened by spotting a familiar voice straight away, clocking “Jill from the quiz” and calling her “another fave of mine,” before letting the music play out fully and re-establishing the rhythm of the morning. It was one of those starts that immediately grounded the show in shared memory, with Scott checking sound levels, joking “she got any echo on her there at all?” and reminding everyone exactly where they were: “This is the Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2.” Victoria Beckham, 2001, and peak British behaviour After Pink, Scott pivoted straight into the story that threaded through the morning, noting that “this song by Victoria Beckham is in the charts at the moment, even though it was released in 2001,” before offering his own diagnosis: “I think it’s because of all the drama of late with the Beckhams.” He immediately widened it out, laughing that “isn’t this peak British behaviour? Really, we’re very unserious sometimes,” and reminded listeners he’d flagged the track the day before, saying he’d “quite like to play this track by Victoria” now it was charting again. That quickly turned into a live decision-making moment, with Scott underlining that “ultimately, it’s the decision of the man who is in charge of all the music here on Radio 2,” before naming him: “and I think you’ll agree he does a flipping good job of it, Jeff.” Messages had already come in, with Scott confirming “we did get a flurry of texts yesterday saying yes play it,” and that the team had passed them on — but the call still rested with Jeff. Jeff-watch, Melanie C, and people power Scott explained the practical snag in real time: “I’ve also got the new one from Melanie C in a minute and I can’t play two Spice Girls solo tracks in one show.” Rather than shutting it down, he turned it into a mission, inviting listeners to influence what happened next: “If you would like to hear Victoria Beckham on tomorrow’s show, Friday, text me now 882921.” He promised, very clearly, “I promise your message will be sent to Jeff,” before reiterating the structure of Radio 2 life: “he has the ultimate decision.” By the end of the sequence, Scott was already reacting to incoming messages, reading out “Yes to full VB, please. We need it on Friday,” and confirming “I’ll send all these on, okay?” before moving cleanly into Melanie C with What Could Possibly Go Wrong, a title that did not go unnoticed. Elder vs Millennial: Bob Holness, forgotten telly and polite confusion Scott introduced the feature by leaning hard into the nostalgia, flagging it as “serious nostalgia next” and reminding listeners that Elder vs Millennial exists because “young people learn about the cultural milestones of the past,” usually followed by bafflement. Emilio joined Scott in the studio, with Scott immediately referencing recent events, joking that “today he will not be insulting my jumpsuit,” before reassuring him that “you were actually the nicest one when I wore my Stephen-from-Traitors-inspired jumpsuit the other day.” The example at the heart of the game was something Scott admitted had completely slipped his own mind until recently: a TV show from the 1980s hosted by Bob Holness. Scott framed it as one of those formats that “everyone of a certain age just knows,” before realising that to Emilio it meant absolutely nothing. The show’s name, premise and catchphrases were all laid out slowly, with Scott clearly enjoying the dawning realisation that this was another cultural reference that has simply vanished for anyone who didn’t grow up with three channels and a Radio Times. Emilio’s reactions did most of the work. Scott explained the mechanics of the programme and paused repeatedly to check if any of it sounded normal, while Emilio responded politely but clearly unconvinced. Scott acknowledged the gap directly, saying this was exactly the point of the feature — things that were once massive now sounding completely unhinged when explained out loud. The segment ended without resolution, the reference still not landing, which Scott seemed perfectly happy with, moving straight on knowing the confusion was the payoff. The post 29 January 2026: Victoria Beckham charts, Jeff decides, Bob Holness first appeared on Unofficial Mills.View the full article

OJ Borg is in for Sara Cox that week as well.

Lauren Layfield sits in for Katie Thiselton on Going Home Joining Emil Franchi on Monday 2nd February  It will be good to hear these two presenting together again!   Connor Coates sits in for Charlie Hedges on Saturday 14th February

No jumpsuit, no sun, but big positive energy Scott opened Wednesday determined to shut down any lingering January misery, making a point of clarifying that “before you ask, no — I’m not wearing a jumpsuit,” and declaring those days officially over. With Tina off ill and Matthew Carter drafted in, the tone quickly settled into gentle chaos, weather-based disbelief and a firm demand for “big positive energy only.” Josh Whittaker’s forecast did little to lift spirits, prompting Scott to wonder how a ten-day forecast could look exactly the same every single day, before throwing it straight back to listeners for VPE via voice notes. Those voice notes immediately became the engine of the morning, with gym sessions, early runs, deliveries and dog walks all providing the soundtrack. Scott leaned into it hard, clearly enjoying how the show now lives in people’s earbuds during very specific moments of their day. The sense of routine — halfway through the week, still dark, still damp — was acknowledged without ever being wallowed in. A year in, and the memories came flooding back A highlight of the morning was Scott and Matthew revisiting a montage of the show’s first year, shared on Instagram, which Scott admitted had made him “quite emotional.” What followed was a rapid-fire recollection of moments that felt both huge and completely ridiculous: Gloria Estefan confiscating a sausage from a nun, Gerard Butler with a lizard on his head, Brian Cox accidentally joining a conga, and Scott himself wandering the streets in a dressing gown. It was one of those stretches of radio that didn’t need tightening. The joy was in how casually the memories were dropped, with Scott repeatedly realising he’d forgotten entire episodes of his own life. It underlined how much ground the show has covered in a year, without ever tipping into self-congratulation. Take That’s helpline aftermath Although Gary, Mark and Howard weren’t in the studio this day, the ripple effects of their anniversary appearance were still very much alive. Scott explained that the reopened Take That helpline had stayed with him long after the microphones were off, particularly the decision not to tell callers the band would actually be on the line. Speaking to Lisa, one of the superfans surprised on air, Scott let the moment breathe as she admitted she’d taken the morning off work and was still recovering. Lisa talked through her history with the band, from early 90s fandom to the embarrassment endured by siblings and the long-suffering patience of her partner, Craig. Scott reflected on how surreal it was that a helpline first called in distress thirty years ago could now end with Mark Owen on the line, joking that he’d like to tell twelve-year-old Lisa that “it’s all going to be all right in 2026.” Vinnie Jones (five-paragraph guest section) Vinnie Jones arrived with Scott admitting he was “50% starstruck and 50% terrified,” immediately playing up the contrast between Vinnie’s reputation and his calm, friendly presence. Vinnie leaned into it, joking that Scott looked like “one of the youth team players,” before swapping stories about working alongside Hollywood’s most intimidating names. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta all came up, with Vinnie recalling being genuinely starstruck for the first time when Travolta stopped a set to personally thank the entire cast. As the chat unfolded, Vinnie’s warmth became the dominant note. He spoke fondly about Stallone organising golf club memberships for the cast during a Louisiana shoot, and about forming close friendships through work, including Paul Whitehouse. Scott listened like a fan, barely interrupting, clearly happy to let Vinnie’s stories roll. The conversation shifted naturally to Vinnie Jones In The Country, with Vinnie explaining that his life away from acting is focused almost entirely on conservation, wildlife and mental health. He described the show as deliberately not being a farming programme, stressing that “80–90% of the feedback” is about how openly it tackles men’s mental health, grief and anxiety. He spoke plainly about needing people like himself to address it head-on, with the same force he once used on the football pitch. Animals became the emotional heart of the interview. Vinnie talked in detail about rescuing barn owls, explaining how young owls fall from poorly designed nesting boxes and how careful the reintroduction process needs to be. His description of building a temporary aviary inside the barn, slowly allowing the owls to learn their surroundings before release, was delivered with obvious pride and patience. The interview ended in complete contrast to its thoughtful tone, as Scott asked Vinnie to judge viral “celebrity owl” impressions. After politely tolerating a few, Vinnie was asked to perform one himself, producing a surprisingly convincing hoot live on air. Scott lost it completely, declaring it the best of the lot and crowning Vinnie the outright winner before sending him off to Bananarama. Left-handers, letters and the joy of nonsense Running alongside everything else was Scott’s renewed mission to “make letters great again,” inviting emails about absolutely anything. A letter from Craig in Bath about Scott being left-handed sparked a sprawling discussion about left-handed scissors, smudged fountain pens, awkward school desks and the long-lost left-handed shops of the early 2000s. Scott insisted left-handed scissors were “a con,” while callers and Matthew shared stories of elbow battles and ink-covered hands. It was classic Breakfast Show territory: niche, oddly universal, and allowed to run for as long as it wanted. By the time Scott noted that every conversation about being left-handed inevitably ends with someone saying “my uncle’s daughter is left-handed,” the point had already landed perfectly. Scott hands over to Vernon As the show drifted past 9:30, Scott linked up with Vernon Kay, immediately suggesting they should invent a feud to generate tabloid headlines. Within seconds they were joking about savage digs, misquoted remarks and imaginary Mirror headlines, with Vernon happily playing along. Scott promised to think of “a better feud for tomorrow” before finally handing over, still laughing. The post 28 January 2026: Vinnie Jones, left-handers and owls first appeared on Unofficial Mills.View the full article