Metropolitan Police

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer after the corporation made the decision to dismiss the radio star last month

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer. In yet another scandal for the public broadcaster, Scott Mills, a BBC radio favourite for decades, was axed from his role in March.

The Mirror revealed that the former BBC Radio 1 and 2 DJ was questioned in 2018 over the historical allegations of serious sexual offences, but the investigation – which began in 2016 – was closed in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The allegations are reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. The Metropolitan Police told the Mirror that the teenage boy at the centre of the investigation was under 16.

For more than 40 years, Top of the Pops was the BBC’s major music programme that showcased the acts who were in the charts that week and gave a platform to some of the biggest names in the industry, with the likes of The Beatles, Spice Girls and Madonna amongst countless others all having performed on it over the years.

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The programme, which ended in 2006, is still repeated regularly but now the The Sun has reported that the three episodes in which Scott, 53, served as host, have now been wiped from the corporation’s streaming service.

The episodes in question originally aired in 1999 and around that time, he welcomed the likes of Billie Piper, Mariah Carey and Westlife onto the show to perform their latest singles. The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment.

On Wednesday April 1, The Mirror revealed that the BBC was forced to terminate Mills’ contract after receiving compelling new information. The BBC then confirmed the Mirror’s report a day after it emerged that they knew of information relating to the police investigation. They pledged that they were “doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

The Metropolitan Police said a man, who was in his 40s at the time of the interview in 2016, was investigated over allegations reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. Today, BBC News reported that director general at the time, Tony Hall, was not aware of the allegations.

The investigation was dropped in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. As first reported by the Mirror, Mills was sacked over allegations relating to his ‘personal conduct’ after the final edition of his breakfast programme aired.

Following his dismissal, Mills issued a statement via lawyers thanking his well-wishers. He said: “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

On the police probe, he said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence, which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully co-operated and responded to in 2018.”

He added: “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.”

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Sources claim that the current senior management took swift action after finding out for the first time that Mills’ accuser was under 16

The BBC was unaware of the full extent of the police investigation into Scott Mills including the accuser’s age, sources claim. The presenter – who today broke his silence to thank his former listeners – was interviewed by police in 2018 under caution after being accused of serious sexual offences against a boy under the age of 16. Mills and his agent spoke to some senior BBC figures about the claims at the time. Mills was never charged with any crime because of a lack of evidence.

At the time, Director general Tony Hall was not aware of the “full picture” including the accuser’s age., although it’s unclear if other managers did. However after learning about the age in the last week, the newer management took swift action.

It comes as the BBC admitted yesterday they had known about the police investigation in 2017 but were “doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

Insiders say it was also difficult for the BBC to have made their own inquiries into the investigation, and that they were “limited” in what the police would tell them. Last night Mills issued a statement via his lawyers in which he thanked well-wishers.

He said: “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

He also opened up about the police investigation. He said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me. An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018. As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.

“Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 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. The BBC had hours earlier issued their own statement, confirming our story yesterday that it “acted decisively” after receiving “new information” in the weeks prior to his sacking.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many. We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved. What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values, and terminated his contracts on Friday March 27.”

The BBC added that iit “made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards”, and added that it set out “behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC” and was “clear action would be taken” if they were not met last year, following an independent culture review.

Mills last hosted Radio 2’s Breakfast Show on Tuesday March 24 and signed off with “see you tomorrow”, before being replaced by Gary Davies. In an email sent to staff on Monday, Lorna Clarke, the BBC’s director of music, acknowledged the news was “sudden and unexpected, and therefore must come as a shock”. It has also been announced that children’s cancer charity Neuroblastoma UK has decided to “part ways” with Mills, who had been a patron since 2021.

A statement from the charity said: “Following his dismissal from the BBC, Neuroblastoma UK have taken the decision to part ways with Scott Mills and he is no longer a patron of our charity.” We have gone to Mills’ team for comment.