Scott Mills Explains Why He Couldn’t Refuse Offer To Replace Steve Wright On Radio 2’s Afternoon Show

Scott Mills has admitted he’s got big shoes to fill as he prepares to take over Steve Wright’s afternoon show on Radio 2.

Scott left Radio 1 this summer after 24 years – slightly eclipsing Steve’s 23 years at Radio 2 – despite being offered another two year contract to stay at the station.

In an interview with Radio Times, Scott admits he would have been “a fool” to turn down the opportunity to move stations.

“I was offered another two-year contract but I’m 49 now and down the line, who wants a 60-year-old Scott Mills on Radio 1?,” he tells the publication.

“I’ve spent half my life at the station and it has been glorious, but I would have been an absolute fool to turn down Radio 2 because this is a job that doesn’t come up very often… will I be out of my comfort zone? No, I don’t think so.”

Scott is full of praise for his predecessor too, describing Steve as “one of the finest broadcasters in the world”.

“To say he is a big act to follow is a massive understatement,” he says.

“I think a lot of people still think of Radio 2 as, ‘Oh, my nan used to listen to that’ – which mine actually did. It’s different to Radio 1, but if you listen to the station now, it’s music that I feel comfortable playing. It’s a lot of 90s, a lot of 2000s, a lot of 2010s. 

“And it’s actually a lot of now as well because radio stations have to go with the times. If you’re in the target age group, which is 35-plus, you don’t want to hear Glenn Miller, but there are songs that everybody knows and everybody loves from every decade – Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush is a perfect example. We know it, now our kids know it.”

Read the full interview in this week’s Radio Times, out now.