Scott Mills defends high BBC pay: âIâve worked for this my whole lifeâ
Mills will make his debut as Zoe Ballâ??s replacement on the flagship show next week
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy
Scott Mills has discussed his pay from the BBC, as he takes over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show from Zoe Ball.
The presenter, 51, is stepping into the primetime slot after Ball, 54, left in December following a six-year stint on the show.
Moving from his previous weekday slot of 2-4pm, Mills is due to make his debut on Monday (27 January).
Each year, the BBC reveals the pay of its top stars, with Ball earning about £950,000 in 2023/2024, only second to the highest paid star, Gary Lineker, who earned around £1,350,000. Mills, meanwhile, earned £315,000.
While itâs not yet been made public what Millsâs new salary will be, he told The Sun he feels he has earned it.
He said: âIâve been doing this since I was 16 and Iâll tell you how much I got paid then â £20 a show. And it was a five-hour show in the middle of the night, 1 until 6am.
âObviously thereâs always curiosity around salaries because they get published every year. But I donât think you can say that I havenât played the long game.â
Mills and Ball (PA Wire )
Mills added: âItâs not like some hotshotâs turned up and is earning all this cash. No one likes discussing money. But hereâs the thing, what you donât get is people going, âOh, I bet youâre getting paid loads.â
"What you get is people that have listened to you through school, college, uni, work, marriage, divorce, marriage again, kids. So theyâre actually just full of congratulations.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
âAnd I think the same will be true about the dreaded âSâ word â the salary. I donât think anyone will be like, âWell, he doesnât deserve that.â
âI hope people wonât think, âWell, he hasnât worked very hard for that,â because Iâve worked for this my whole life.â
Radio 2âs flagship show boasts an audience of 6.3 million listeners. Earlier this month, Mills said he will not be worrying about the audience figures.
âI will be applying the same formula thatâs worked for me for the last quarter of a century on BBC Radio,â he said. âIt will be energetic, it will be fun, and it will be listener-inclusive. When youâre listening, I want you to feel that the listeners are running the conversation, and theyâre kind of running the show.
âThe music is key and it will be hand-picked for a morning mood. Breakfast radio is a mood, and if you get that mood right, and itâs quite a skill, then youâre going to do well.â