Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 replacement Scott Mills addresses eye-watering BBC salary

Radio DJ Scott Mills is set to fill the shoes of Zoe Ball, taking over BBC Radio 2’s The Breakfast Show after she stepped down last year.

With the BBC revealing the salaries of their top earners, it’s likely that Mills’ pay for the role will also be disclosed. It was previously revealed that Ball was earning a substantial £950,000 per annum.

Earlier this year, reports suggested that Mills would receive £450,000 annually, marking a slight pay increase for the star.

However, Mills is dismissing any discussions about his salary and shared details about the modest pay he received when he first embarked on his radio DJ career 35 years ago.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and I’ll tell you how much I got paid then – £20 a show,” he told The Sun, referring to a five-hour slot from 1am-6am.

While Mills recognises the public interest in salaries due to the BBC’s annual disclosure, he stated: “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,” before adding that no one enjoys discussing money matters.

The radio presenter recently shared his emotional reaction upon learning he’d be succeeding Ball, telling The Mirror that “tears rolled down his face”.

He recalled: “I cried in my dressing gown and Sam was upstairs, I said, ‘Sam, come downstairs, come downstairs.’ And, yeah, I fully sobbed.”

Mills opened up about his upcoming venture, acknowledging the significance of the role with immense gratitude: “It’s a massive gig and that isn’t lost on me at all. And also I think I’ve been on BBC Radio for 25 years,” Scott revealed.

He also reminisced about missed opportunities, contemplating his journey: “Once I’d kind of calmed down from the sobbing, I was kind of having a real reflective moment of like, ‘Well, I remember being a bit sad that I never got The Radio 1 Breakfast Show,’ but then if I had at the time, would I be where I am now? “.

The familiar voice had once been in line for the same Radio 1 time slot but circumstances shifted his path. His previous afternoon slot on the station will now see Trevor Nelson taking over.

Ball experienced an emotional departure last month as she hosted her final BBC Radio 2 show before the holidays.

She shared on air: “We’ve had some tears already. We don’t quite know what to do with ourselves this morning, do we?,” giving her listeners a glimpse into the bittersweet moments of the day, and added, “We’re all pretending we’re going to be OK, that the emotion isn’t getting to us but it’s definitely getting to us. So hold tight! But Richie, so many nice comments yesterday – made me blub my eyes out!”