Scott Mills has gone “off-grid” following his shock sacking from the scandal-hit BBC, with concerned friends reportedly unable to contact him.
The Radio 2 presenter, 53, was dismissed on Monday over allegations relating to his “personal conduct”, said to involve a “historic” relationship dating back more than a decade.
Now, a source close to Mills has claimed the broadcaster has withdrawn completely in the days since his abrupt exit.
“Scott was told about the allegation in a meeting with senior staff present. He was tense,” the source told The Sun.
“He has completely shut down now and no one can get hold of him. No calls, no messages, nothing. The people who know him are blindsided by all of this.”
The claims come as a former colleague has spoke out, urging caution.
Broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake, who worked alongside Mills for 12 years at Radio 1, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday and said the development had come as a shock.
“This was not on anyone’s Monday bingo card, was it?” he said.
Reflecting on Mills’s career, Arthanayake described the Radio 2 Breakfast Show as a long-held ambition among his peers.
“Of all the Radio 1 presenters of my generation, the Fern Cottons and Reggies and Vernons, the one person we knew would end up eventually on Radio 2 was Scott Mills. Everybody knew it and spoke about it. He got his dream job.”
He added that while his “first thoughts” were with the alleged victim, it was important to remember the human impact on all involved.
“Scott Mills is a human, he’s a person who got his dream job that has now been taken away from him,” he said.
“There’s a current feeding frenzy going on. We have to be very careful about this, not just for the victim but for Scott as well.”
Arthanayake also referenced the death of former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, who died in 2020 aged 40 while awaiting trial after being charged with assault, which she denied, sparking debate about media scrutiny and online abuse.
“We all know what happened to Caroline Flack, and how the public rounded, and the press rounded on her. We have to be very careful about this.”
Speaking about his own experience working with Mills, Arthanayake added: “In all of my 12 years at Radio 1, I didn’t ever hear a bad word said about Scott Mills. That was the reality.”
The BBC has not disclosed further details about the allegations, saying only that Mills is “no longer contracted” to the broadcaster.
His sudden departure has left a significant gap in the Radio 2 schedule, with Gary Davies currently hosting the breakfast show on an interim basis. He and Vernon Kay are among the names in the running to replace Mills permanently.
Mills had been one of the corporation’s most recognisable voices, joining Radio 1 in 1998 before moving to Radio 2, where he took over the flagship breakfast slot from Zoe Ball in 2025.
