Scott Mills tops BBC pay list for 2025/26 before Radio 2 exit

Scott Mills was the BBC’s highest-paid on-air presenter in 2025/26, earning £745,000–£749,999 in the year before he was sacked from Radio 2 in March.

The figure appears in the BBC’s annual report for the year ending March 2026. Because Mills was removed just before the end of the financial year, the published sum covers almost his full annual BBC earnings.

Mills took over Radio 2’s Breakfast Show from Zoe Ball in January 2025. In the previous year’s report, he was paid £355,000–£359,999.

The BBC publishes the names and pay bands of stars and executives only when they earn above £178,000. The list does not include people paid through independent production companies or through the corporation’s commercial arm, BBC Studios.

His departure from the broadcaster came after it was revealed he had been accused of historical sexual offences. Mills co-operated with a police investigation and was never charged.

The investigation began in 2016 and was closed in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to bring charges.

In a statement in April, Mills said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation.”

He added: “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.”

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Greg James was the second highest paid presenter on the list, earning £440,000. Laura Kuenssberg was the highest paid woman in fourth place, with £405,000. Vernon Kay rounded out the top five, also on £405,000.

Nick Grimshaw, the gay presenter, was paid £335,000-£339,999 for his work on the Sidetracked podcast and BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast shows.

The figures place Mills at the top of a list that continues to reveal how much the BBC pays its best-known presenters, while also showing how limited the disclosure remains because it excludes large parts of the corporation’s wider talent spend.