Zoe Ball ‘so proud’ of Scott Mills as he takes over BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show

Zoe Ball told Scott Mills she is “so proud” of him after he took over the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, which was marked by the town of Stockport being temporarily renamed Scottport.

The 51-year-old took over the reins from Ball who announced in November she was stepping down to “focus on family”, having replaced Chris Evans in the slot in 2019.

Mills’ first show on Monday morning was celebrated by famous faces sending in messages of support and with the Greater Manchester town of Stockport being “officially renamed” by the mayor.

During Mills’ show, Ball said in a message: “Hello you, it’s me Zoe. I think I’m more excited about your first show than you will be right now.

“I keep getting really tearful. I’m so proud of you, I just need you to know that. You are so born to do this.”

Earlier in the show, the mayor of Stockport, Suzanne Wyatt, told Mills on air she sanctioned the changes to the town, which included the signage and information screens at the railway station being renamed for the day.

The bridge over the M3 at Fleet Services was also renamed for the day.

“I’m very happy. I think it makes people smile. The more we can do to make people smile, the better,” Ms Wyatt said.

Mills was also presented with a Scottport sign to remember the moment, which was sent down on an early Avanti West Coast train after the company helped organise the switching of the signs with the show’s new traffic and travel reporter Ellie Brennan.

Stockport station manager Lisa Magee told Mills their team has been “working so hard right the way through the night” to change Stockport to Scottport.

“A whole new town, a whole new name, just to welcome Scott Mills,” she added.

Mills, who said he used to live “quite near” Stockport, described the changes as “bonkers” and “like a fever dream” as he thanked the station team.

The Northants Sings Out choir, who were finalists on Britain’s Got Talent, also serenaded Mills with a medley of songs which were altered to celebrate the radio host.

Among the tracks they tweaked the lyrics to included The Only Way Is Up by Yazz to “the only way is Scott”, Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff to “Scott stuff”, and Spice Girls’ Stop to ‘Scott right now’.

A stunned Mills said: “That is brilliant. That is so good. Thank you.”

At the end of his show when he handed over to Vernon Kay at 9.30am, Tess Daly, Kay’s wife and the host of Strictly Come Dancing, sent a message to Mills announcing she would have to switch allegiances to him from Kay because she is from Stockport.

She said: “Hiya Scott, Tess here. Firstly, huge congratulations on being the host of Radio 2’s Breakfast. It is absolutely brilliant.

“Up until now, Vernon has obviously had to be my favourite show on Radio 2, but now that I know I am from Scottport, well, I think my alliance might have to shift, starting from now.”

Among the celebrities who also shared messages of support included singer Robbie Williams and TV presenter Davina McCall.

Williams joined Mills on air to thank him for playing the new version of Rock DJ as his first song, adding: “Go get ’em kid.”

McCall praised Mills as an “amazing broadcaster” as she sent him words of encouragement on his first day.

Her message said: “Scott, it’s Davina. Oh my goodness you are amazing! I love it. How long have I been a fan, Scott? Like forever.

“I know how much this means to you. I know how hard you have worked throughout your entire career, and I also know what an amazing broadcaster you are.”

Echoing one of her catchphrases from her time as Big Brother host, McCall added: “I am so happy for you, Scott Mills, and, brace yourself, I’m coming to get you.”

Radio 2 Good Morning Sunday presenter Reverend Kate Bottley also made Mills emotional as she delivered the Pause For Thought segment, which sees contributors from a variety of faiths give a message.

She said: “Our voices and how we use them matter and they are perhaps sometimes more powerful and significant than we might first realise, Scott.

“There can be no such thing as wasted words. Yours is a voice we recognise too.”

Mills, who began his career with a local commercial station in Hampshire at the age of 16, said he is still finding it “quite hard to process that this is happening” as he began hosting his new show.

“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”, he added.

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

Mills lined up a host of hits to kick off his first BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show including The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun, Madonna hit Papa Don’t Preach, and Pink Pony Club by BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2025 winner Chappell Roan.

At the end of the show, newsreader Tina Daheley revealed her gift to Mills was that she had lined up The Traitors star Linda Rands to join them on air on Tuesday.

Mills has hosted some of the BBC’s biggest shows, including joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998 and becoming a host of the station’s early morning breakfast show.

He presented a variety of programmes on Radio 1 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 two became popular thanks to a number of humorous segments including Innuendo Bingo.

Mills has also co-hosted Saturday morning shows on BBC Radio 5 Live with Stark, and has presented the Eurovision Song Contest, commentating alongside Rylan Clark, as well as sitting in for Ball.

He 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.

In 2024, Mills won BBC reality show Celebrity Race Across The World with his husband, Sam Vaughan.