Scott Mills was BBC's highest-paid star before sacking, annual report reveals
Image: BBC News
DJ Scott Mills was the highest-paid presenter at the BBC before he was dramatically sacked earlier this year, according to the corporation's annual report.
The 53-year-old was paid around £745,000 before his exit in March, when it emerged he had been accused of historical sexual offences. Mills co-operated with a police investigation and was not charged.
He was sacked by the BBC just days before the end of the financial year — meaning the £745,000 listed represents almost his full annual BBC earnings, covering his tenure on the Radio 2 breakfast show and projects such as the Scott & Rylan's Pop: Top 10 podcast.
The report also lays bare the BBC's financial squeeze. The number of TV licences in force fell by 539,000 last year, and has now dropped by two million in five years — from 25.3 million in 2020-21 to 23.3 million.
Why it matters: The pay list is more than celebrity trivia. It lands as the BBC fights to justify the licence fee, retain audiences and manage a string of reputational storms — and Mills' departure, so recently and so abruptly, has become a symbol of how messy that balancing act has become.
Other top earners included Greg James, Stephen Nolan, Laura Kuenssberg, Vernon Kay and Alan Shearer, while Gary Lineker's figure dropped sharply after he left two months into the financial year. Sara Cox has since taken over the Radio 2 breakfast show, with the teatime slot still awaiting a permanent replacement.
What's next: With licence numbers sliding and scrutiny of star salaries intensifying, the BBC's annual report suggests the harder questions about its future funding are only getting louder.