Scott Mills has opened up about how it really feels to have your salary as public knowledge.
The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, 52, admitted that having his earnings revealed every year as part of the broadcaster’s annual report can be an “odd” and “exposing” experience.
Every year, the BBC releases a list of its top earners, with Mills featuring in 16th place on the 2023/2024 chart, with an annual salary of £315,000, up from £300,000 the previous financial year.
It’s thought that Mills’ salary will increase this year to reflect his new role as the host of the Breakfast Show after he took over from Zoe Ball in January.
“The thing is, you just have to accept that that is part of working at the BBC,” he told The Telegraph.
“The first time you realise you’re on that list and then there it is in the newspaper in black and white, it’s an odd feeling to be sure.
“It felt quite exposing, because I’m not someone who talks about money.”
Speaking to The Sun earlier this year, Mills acknowledged the widespread “curiosity” around BBC salaries, while defending his pay as a reflection of his long career.
“Obviously there’s always curiosity around salaries because they get published every year,” he said.
“But I don’t think you can say that I haven’t played the long game. It’s not like some hotshot’s turned up and is earning all this cash.”
He added that most of his longtime listeners have been “full of congratulations” about his latest career move.
“What you get is people that have listened to you through school, college, uni, work, marriage, divorce, marriage again, kids,” he added.
“So they’re actually just full of congratulations. And I think the same will be true about the dreaded ‘s’ word – the salary. I don’t think anyone will be like, ‘Well, he doesn’t deserve that’.
“I hope people won’t think, ‘well, he hasn’t worked very hard for that,’ because I’ve worked for this my whole life.”
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show remains the UK’s most popular breakfast programme, according to figures released by industry ratings body Rajar in May.
The statistics, however, showed that the audience had dropped from 6.83 million to 6.45m from January to March.
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