Mills 'overwhelmed' on first Radio 2 breakfast show

Scott Mills welcomed listeners to his first BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Monday, telling listeners it was "all a bit overwhelming".

The broadcaster has taken over the prestigious slot from Zoe Ball, who stood down from last month after six years of hosting.

"As a radio presenter, and radio fan all my life, I'm still finding it quite hard to process that this is happening if I'm honest," Mills told listeners in his opening link.

He joked that everyone had been guessing what his first song would be, as he formally opened the show by introducing Rock DJ by Robbie Williams.

"Here we go then, this is the Scott Mills breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, and I can't believe I'm finally saying those words," he said.

The show's other on-air voices include travel reader Ellie Brennan, while Tina Daheley, who previously appeared on BBC breakfast radio shows hosted by Zoe Ball, Chris Moyles, Nick Grimshaw and Trevor Nelson, is the newsreader.

"If I think too much about the previous occupiers of this show, it becomes mind-blowing to me, for a kid who wanted to be on the radio but wasn't sure he had the self-confidence to be able to actually do it," Mills reflected.

"The aim here is to make you smile, bring up your mood, to make you shoulder and head dance in the car, or in bed, or in the shower or in the kitchen, and to keep your spirits up on mornings where maybe you don't feel so great."

Mills joined Radio 2's weekday schedule in 2022, replacing Steve Wright as the host of the afternoon slot.

Prior to that, he worked on Radio 1 for nearly three decades and also hosted a weekend show on 5 Live.

The breakfast show is seen as the most prestigious flagship programme in a radio station's schedule.

However, in Radio 2's case, it is not currently the most listened to programme on the schedule.

That accolade is held by the mid-morning show, currently hosted by Vernon Kay, who took over from Ken Bruce in 2023.

Kay and Mills are two of several DJs who have gravitated to the station from Radio 1 as bosses have freshened up the schedule.

Radio 2's weekday schedule now also features Nelson, Sara Cox and Jo Whiley, resembling the Radio 1 schedule of the noughties.

But not all former Radio 1 DJs automatically move to Radio 2. Moyles now hosts breakfast on Radio X, while Grimshaw recently took over the BBC Radio 6 Music breakfast show.