Last weekend, The Mail on Sunday’s peerless Katie Hind revealed how Scott Mills’ celebrity pals were reacting to his shock sacking. Today, she turns her focus to the BBC...

Posing for an Instagram photo in almost identical denim jackets, Scott Mills and his husband Sam Vaughan couldn’t have looked happier. They were VIP guests at the C2C country music festival at London’s O2 Arena, one of their favourite events of the year, I’m told.

Certainly onlookers at the concert last month said that the couple were ‘really getting into the swing of things’.

But eight days later their lives were shattered when Mills, the host of the Radio 2 breakfast show, was pulled off air and then sacked after bosses were made aware that the alleged victim of a serious sexual offences probe against him had been under 16.

It has been a torrid time for Mills, 53, and his friends are ‘extremely worried about him’.

One told me this week: ‘Scott’s mental health has always been fragile. Now we are deeply concerned for his wellbeing.’

Indeed, the friend adds, it is Vaughan, 37, a radio producer who has worked on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and other BBC productions, who has been supporting him.

While it is not known when Vaughan became aware of the allegations levelled against his husband, I’m told he is his ‘rock’.

‘Sam is staunchly standing by Scott,’ my source says. ‘He has been propping him up.

‘It has been an absolutely devastating time for him and while to some it might seem strange that a person would stay with someone embroiled in a scandal like this, there is no chance of Sam leaving.

‘It is a huge relief for Scott. Sam has remained very loyal, he adores Scott and is on side with him. Frankly, we don’t know what Scott would do without him.’

Indeed, to the outside world it might seem bizarre that Vaughan hasn’t been tempted to walk away, especially as the allegations first blew up just months after the pair began dating.

To recap, Mills’ accuser says that the offences against him were perpetrated from 1997 (when the complainant was under 16, and Mills was 24) to 2000.

Then, in 2016, Mills first met Vaughan, who is 14 years his junior, at a radio industry event in Wales. The pair began dating a year later, shortly after the police probe began into the allegations against Mills.

The investigation was closed in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

‘Everyone is being incredibly tight-lipped about who knew what,’ a source close to the situation says. ‘You’d think Sam knew – we hope Sam knew. If he didn’t, he is being extremely forgiving now.’

The couple married in June 2024 at a stunning villa in Barcelona, where they were joined by their celebrity friends, including Rylan Clark, DJ Vick Hope and her husband Calvin Harris. Shortly afterwards, they won BBC2’s Celebrity Race Across The World. Today, they live in a £1.45 million home in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.

During their travels, a local remarked that Scott, then 50, looked like he could be Vaughan’s dad, which prompted the DJ to address their age gap, saying: ‘I forget there’s an age difference between me and Sam. He’s a bit old for his years and I’m a bit young. We meet in the middle.’

Indeed, Mills and Vaughan are a ‘much loved’ couple on the showbusiness scene. ‘Everyone wants to be their friend,’ says a source. ‘They are such a hoot, they love to party and are great company.’

This, I’m told, is why there is so little gossip coming out of the Corporation on precisely what it is Mills has been accused of.

I’ve been talking to showbusiness insiders all week and, despite them having many connections within the BBC, nobody will break ranks.

One told me: ‘I have lots of contacts at the BBC but not one of them is able to tell me what is going on, or what happened. It is very unusual for that place. Usually it is gossip central.

‘There is a huge amount of love and loyalty to Scott and nobody wants to believe that this is true. Some simply refuse to – it is not the Scott they know.

‘The view taken by so many people inside is that there was a police investigation and he was never charged. The fact that all of these years later he has been sacked doesn’t make sense to people.

‘Nobody will discuss it, that’s how much he is adored.’

Sources say that his defenestration – after a 27-year career – has prompted anger towards the BBC executives who axed him.

One former associate of Scott’s says it has provoked a ‘genuine shift’ in feelings within the industry towards the BBC.

‘They have gone too far,’ they said. ‘The pendulum has swung too far the other way. Those outside think so but worryingly, those inside do, too.

‘Some of Scott’s more famous BBC colleagues are absolutely furious. They are refusing to engage with anyone wanting to know the gossip but they are also really cross at the BBC. It all felt very performative by [outgoing BBC director-general] Tim Davie – it was his last act before he left.

‘Did he do it because of the scrutiny he is under after he was accused of turning a blind eye to so many other scandals? Perhaps.

‘The bosses at the BBC have lost the dressing room over this. So much trust has gone.’

Comparisons have inevitably been drawn between Mills and Huw Edwards, the newsreader who was ousted by the BBC in April 2024 after the parents of a younger man came forward to accuse him of grooming their son.

While it’s obviously not known if the circumstances are in any way comparable, friends of Mills are quick to point out that when Edwards’ behaviour was exposed, there were others who came forward to tell of their own experiences at the hands of the star. ‘But with Scott, there has been nothing, nobody else has come forward,’ says the friend. There are no more claims of any bad or creepy behaviour.

‘With Huw, the floodgates really opened, but this hasn’t been the case with Scott.’

So far. And it has to be said that several high-profile BBC figures flocked to Edwards’ defence before the nature of his offence was fully known – namely for possessing indecent images of children, for which he was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

There is also anger at the lack of transparency. The BBC has yet to elaborate on why it sacked Mills, other than saying ‘new information’ had come to light. Given the presenter’s popularity, BBC chiefs are anxious they have alienated some of their core viewers and listeners, some of whom are already fed up with how the Corporation has treated past favourites, such as Ken Bruce and the late Steve Wright. Both were shown the door unceremoniously.

‘There is a view inside Broadcasting House that shoving Scott out has chimed with a dim view the public already has about the BBC,’ says a source familiar with some of the most senior bosses. ‘The BBC could very well find itself running out of presenters soon, particularly good, talented ones who are loved by those listening or watching at home.’

BBC bosses are now on the hunt to find a replacement for Mills – and there is said to be a ‘huge fear’ of getting the decision wrong, which could see them lose even more listeners.

DJ Gary Davies, who stepped in to cover Mills when he was ousted two weeks ago, is a favourite, as are Clara Amfo and Vernon Kay, who currently presents the morning show. Radio 1 star Greg James seems to be an obvious candidate – and one it is felt the audience would be happy with.

While Mills will be difficult to replace, the once golden boy of the BBC does have the odd critic.

Sources there tell me that there was some bewilderment back in the 2000s when Mills helped one of his boyfriends get a stint working as a runner at the BBC’s prestigious entertainment department.

A source working in production during this time said: ‘[The boyfriend] just appeared from nowhere. He was young and good-looking, so everyone noticed him. He was acting as a runner across a number of high-profile shows.

‘He was regularly in the studio helping the floor crew, guests and contributors.

‘It didn’t take long for people to discover the link and that Scott had got him in. One of the executive producers let it slip one day but [the boyfriend] didn’t like talking about Scott when he was asked about him. He really played down their connection.’

However, it became clear quite quickly that he didn’t really want to be a runner and wasn’t cut out for the role.

As for what the future holds for Mills, there is chatter that he might decide to sue the BBC for unfair dismissal, with sources saying he is ‘lawyered up to the hilt’ as he works out his options.

Some suggest he may get through this and work again, while others are adamant that the career he worked so hard for is effectively over for good.

But for now, those close to Mills are most concerned for his mental health.

‘Scott is in a terrible, terrible way,’ says a friend.

‘Right now, we just want him to be okay. He is really lucky to have Sam by his side. Only, now they both must accept life has changed, and they are no longer the life and soul of the party.’