Scott Mills: ‘You soundtrack people’s lives without realising it’
Scott Mills #ScottMills
DJ Scott Mills, 49, began working in local radio at 16 and went on to spend 24 years at BBC Radio 1, leaving last October to take over the weekday afternoon slot on Radio 2 from Steve Wright. He has been a UK commentator for the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing. He lives in London with his fiancé, Sam Vaughan, and their cavapoo dog, Teddy.
Best thing about being a radio DJ?
You soundtrack people’s lives without realising it. When I left Radio 1, people wrote in and said: “In the time you’ve been on, I finished school, went to uni, got married, got divorced, and you’re still there.” When you are on the treadmill of trying to do the best radio every day, you don’t really think of the personal stories. You forget you’ve been a constant – it’s quite mind-blowing.
Best part of joining Radio 2?
Loads of my friends are there already, so it didn’t feel like I was starting a new school. When I was 20, I moved from Bristol to Manchester for a job and I’d never been north in my life – a proper southerner. I didn’t know one person. My mum came to visit and asked if I’d been out with my friends and I was like, “No, I don’t have any.”
I’m actually quite shy. But I already know Zoe Ball, Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson; Sara Cox is one of my best mates. I know Ken Bruce from Eurovision and Jeremy Vine is my new friend, so I’m good.
Best thing about fame?
I don’t really count myself as famous. To me, famous means being on the “hoop of horror” for your sweat marks in Heat magazine. I see fame when I go out with [TV presenter] Rylan: the hair and the teeth and the mad outfit; he’s such a presence and he loves it. I think a lot of people know my name, but can I walk down to the Co-op in my Crocs and they won’t have a clue? Yes I can – and that’s my perfect level.
Best advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t trust anybody. I used to be like, “Everyone’s brilliant; everyone’s got my best interests at heart.” They don’t.
Also, I remember my old boss at Radio 1 saying: “You just need to be yourself on the radio.” You actually have to put your life out there, and that doesn’t sit well with everybody.
It didn’t sit well with me, but it does now. You think, “Why would people care that I went to a party last night, or that I just had a haircut?”, but be you, and have the confidence to be you – which is easier said than done sometimes.
Doing “radio shows” in my bedroom from the age of 7. I would tape all of the jingles, play music and pretend to be on the radio while my mum cooked dinner and my brother Wesley did Lego. Then he’d go out on his bike and my listening figures would haemorrhage. I remember saying: “Please don’t go out; I’ve lost half my audience.”
Becoming a radio presenter wasn’t exactly on the career’s list; I was just a boy from Hampshire, I didn’t know anyone in the industry and I had no connections, but I was laser focused and my mum and dad were very supportive. My father runs a secondhand car place and has pictures of me up in the office. I mean, he’s very proud, but also, can you please take them down? When I did Strictly, he put a massive sign outside the showroom saying “Vote for Scott” – classic Dad behaviour.
Worst career moment?
In 2013 when I was DJing on the main strip of the Greek island of Zante, I went for dinner with a guy called Kiki Lesendric, a friend of the club owner, who turned out to be the number one recording artist in the Balkans – he’s like the Bryan Adams of Serbia. He was appearing as a judge on the Serbian version of The X Factor and asked me to come and assist at his judge’s house.
He introduced me: “Coming all the way from London, he’s very famous, here is Scott Mills.” I did that thing like Robbie Williams where he waves in sunglasses from the balcony of an exotic villa, except in Belgrade, and the contestants were like, “Who the hell is that?”
Then, just to round things off, there was a mad fight in our hotel, my wallet got stolen and they lost my bags.
Worst qualities?
I am an over-thinker. I worry about everything too much and then it turns out surprisingly that I didn’t need to worry at all. I easily fill up my head with “I’ve got this to do and that to do.”
Also, while I’ve become a lot more organised with age, which helps, my God, I would not have wanted to work with me 20 years ago. I was all over the place – all “I’ve lost my keys. Where’s my phone? Sorry, I’ve left my bag in the hotel room.” I was a shambles.
I had to carry [fellow DJ] Jordan North to bed one night at Radio 1’s Big Weekend a few years ago and I thought, “I’ve passed the baton on, there you go, I’m actually an adult now.”
Worst holiday?
I went to Amsterdam with a (now ex) boyfriend and what was supposed to be a lovely bike riding, lunch by the canal scenario turned into a three-day argument. And then our flight was massively delayed coming home, so we had to spend even more time together.
Worst habit?
Smoking. I’m still trying to stop. And biting my nails. If you ever see me on camera, I’ll be doing it. It’s a nervous thing; I’ve done it since I was a kid.
The absolute worst
Paris. I don’t get it. I think it’s stressful, overpriced and everyone tells me French food is the best food in the world, but not in my experience. Every time I’ve been there – which is about twice, to be fair – there was a lot of rudeness. And they do this weird thing where they sit alongside each other in cafés, like they are in the cinema. What’s that all about?
Nobody was particularly helpful as I tried to travel on the Metro, and everyone says it’s the city of love – where? I expected it to be like Emily in Paris, all sophisticated, but I just found it dirty and horrible.
Scott Mills broadcasts from 2-4pm, Monday to Friday, on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds
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