Scott Mills will take over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show at the end of January after Zoe Ball’s departure, the BBC has announced.
Ball signed off her last show on December 20 after helming the programme for six years, with Mills’ first day set for Monday January 27.
Trevor Nelson will take over Mills’ previous weekday slot of 2pm to 4pm on the same day, while Nelson’s former late-night Monday to Thursday slot will be filled by DJ Spoony’s The Good Groove show.
Mills, 51, said: “I am counting down the days until I get to host the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
“It’s the biggest breakfast show in the UK and a career dream for me come true.
“I feel honoured to be a part of the morning routine for millions of listeners as they wake up and start their day.”
He will be joined by newsreader Tina Daheley and Ellie Brennan will be the traffic and travel reporter.
Daheley said: “I can’t wait to get started with Scott and Ellie on the new breakfast show – we are going to have so much fun.”
Mills has been entertaining radio listeners across the country for decades, from his early days on commercial radio to hosting some of the BBC’s biggest shows.
The Eastleigh-born DJ started his career at age 16 at Power FM, a local commercial station in Hampshire, before moving to GWR FM in Bristol, Piccadilly Key 103 in Manchester and later Heart 106.2.
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1998 as host of the early breakfast show and went on to present a variety of programmes across the station before launching his popular eponymous show in 2004, which aired between 1pm and 4pm, and later fronting The Official Chart Show from 2018.
Chris Stark joined as a co-presenter on the Scott Mills show in 2012 and the pair became popular thanks to a number of humorous segments, including Innuendo Bingo.
After 24 years at the station, Mills moved to BBC Radio 2 in 2022 to take over the weekday afternoon 2pm to 4pm slot from veteran presenter Steve Wright, who died last year.
Mills previously said he was “absolutely thrilled” to be following in Ball’s footsteps, who became the first woman to present the Breakfast Show when she took over from Chris Evans in January 2019.
She announced her decision to leave in November, saying it was time for her to “step away from the very early mornings and focus on family”.
Her last Breakfast Show featured messages from singer Kylie Minogue, England footballer Alessia Russo and Doctor Who star David Tennant.
She was the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female presenter in 2023/24 with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999, ranking her second on the list of top-earning talent behind Gary Lineker, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.
