Scott Mills says BBC Radio 2 breakfast debut ‘hard to process’
He has taken over from Zoe Ball.
Scott Mills said he is still finding it “quite hard to process that this is happening” as he began hosting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday morning.
The 51-year-old has taken over from Zoe Ball, who announced in November last year that she was stepping down to “focus on family”, having replaced Chris Evans in the slot in 2019.
Mills opened his show, saying: “Here we go then, Monday the 27th of January 2025 and this is the Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2.
“And I can’t believe I am finally saying those words, as a radio presenter and a radio fan all my life. I’m still finding it quite hard to process that this is happening, if I’m honest.
“If I think too much about the previous occupiers of this show, it becomes mind-blowing to me, for a kid who wanted to be on the radio but wasn’t sure he had the self-confidence to be able to actually do it.
“The aim here is to make you smile, to bring up your mood, to make you shoulder and head dance in bed, or in the shower, or in the car, or in the kitchen, and to keep your spirits up on mornings when maybe you don’t feel so great.”
Mills told listeners he wanted them to reach out “any time you feel like it”, adding: “It’s your voice, your stories and your life that’s going to make this show into something that I really hope you come to adore and look forward to every day. That’s my aim.”
He vowed to “give it absolutely everything”, saying: “I’ve worked at the BBC for 25 years now, on the radio – a lot of you may well have grown up listening to me.
“I’m sure a lot of you will not have much idea about me at all.
“Either way, if you could make me part of your morning routine, it would honestly mean so much because, believe me, I’m going to give it absolutely everything I’ve got. I really hope you enjoy it. Let’s go.”
The first track he played was Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ, from the 2000 album Sing When You’re Winning, saying afterwards: “This might be the best day of my life, apart from getting married.”
Williams joined Mills on air to thank him for playing the new version of Rock DJ, which was remixed for his new Oscar-nominated biopic Better Man.
The singer agreed to join Mills in the studio when he is back for his tour, adding: “Go get ’em kid!”
TV presenter Davina McCall praised Mills as an “amazing broadcaster” as she sent him words of encouragement on his first day.
Her message said: “Scott, it’s Davina. Oh my goodness you are amazing! I love it. How long have I been a fan, Scott? Like forever.
“I know how much this means to you. I know how hard you have worked throughout your entire career, and I also know what an amazing broadcaster you are.”
Echoing one of her catchphrases from her time as Big Brother host, McCall added: “I am so happy for you, Scott Mills, and, brace yourself, I’m coming to get you.”
Radio 2 Good Morning Sunday presenter Reverend Kate Bottley also made Mills emotional as she delivered the Pause For Thought segment, which sees contributors from a variety of faiths give a message.
She said: “Our voices and how we use them matter and they are perhaps sometimes more powerful and significant than we might first realise, Scott.
“There can be no such thing as wasted words. Yours is a voice we recognise too.”
She noted that his listeners will range from parents on school runs to farmers and delivery drivers, while his voice may also “fill the silence of pain or sorrow” at a bedside.
Mills lined up a host of hits to kick off his first BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, including The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun, Madonna hit Papa Don’t Preach, and Pink Pony Club by BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2025 winner Chappell Roan.
Mills is joined on the show by newsreader Tina Daheley and traffic and travel reporter Ellie Brennan.
Ball, who became the first woman to present the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, left in December, with presenters Mark Goodier and Gaby Roslin sitting in to present the programme temporarily.
Mills began his career with a local commercial station in Hampshire at the age of 16.
He has hosted some of the BBC’s biggest shows, including joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998 and becoming a host of the station’s early morning breakfast show.
He presented a variety of programmes on Radio 1 before launching his popular eponymous show in 2004, which aired between 1pm and 4pm, and later fronting The Official Chart Show from 2018.
Chris Stark joined as a co-presenter on the Scott Mills show in 2012 and the pair became popular thanks to a number of humorous segments including Innuendo Bingo.
Mills has also co-hosted Saturday morning shows on BBC Radio 5 Live with Stark, and has presented the Eurovision Song Contest, commentating alongside Rylan Clark, as well as sitting in for Ball.
He moved to BBC Radio 2 in 2022 to take over the weekday afternoon 2pm to 4pm slot from veteran presenter Steve Wright, who died last year.
In 2024, Mills won BBC reality show Celebrity Race Across The World with his husband, Sam Vaughan.
