Sara Cox is replacing Scott Mills as the host of BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show after he was fired last month over “personal conduct” allegations.
Cox currently presents Radio 2’s teatime show, which she has presided over since 2019. In a statement to BBC News, Cox said she was “ecstatic, honored and incredibly chuffed” to take over the breakfast show. “It’s been a dream to host the breakfast show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me,” Cox added.
On March 30, it was revealed that Mills had suddenly been sacked from the breakfast show, which he had been hosting since early 2025. It later emerged that he had been questioned in 2018 by the Metropolitan Police in connection with historical sexual offense allegations involving a teenage boy under the age of 16.
The police said that the inquiry centered on alleged offenses said to have occurred between 1997 and 2000, when Mills was in his mid-20s. He was never charged. The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the case and concluded in 2019 that the evidence fell short of the threshold required to pursue prosecution, at which point the investigation was formally closed.
The BBC later admitted that it was aware of the previous police investigation into Mills, but dismissed him after “new information” came to light.
“In recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him,” the BBC said. “As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March.”
The broadcaster added, “Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”
Mills also released a statement after the news of the police investigation, saying: “Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.”
