Scott Mills is reportedly refusing to watch Eurovision this week after being replaced by Angela Scanlon as a commentator, as the contest airs without the voice that fronted the show for more than a decade. The broadcaster, who held the Eurovision commentary job since 2011, was sacked in March after it emerged he had been investigated over alleged serious sexual offences against a boy under 16.
According to a source quoted by The Sun, Mills “will not be watching a single moment of Eurovision” because “it is still all far too raw.” The same source said he “absolutely cherished that gig and never for a moment took it for granted,” a sharp marker of how central the contest had been to his broadcasting career.
Angela Scanlon has taken over the live broadcasts alongside Rylan Clark, putting a new pair of faces on one of Eurovision’s most familiar television fixtures. Mills had become closely associated with the contest after beginning the role in 2011, and his removal in March ended a run that had lasted more than a decade.
The investigation at the centre of his dismissal was said to cover allegations dating from 1997 to 2000, with claims that he stayed in contact with the boy until around 2006. It was later dropped because of a lack of evidence, but the fallout has continued to shape the story around Mills even as Eurovision returns to screens this week.
The source quoted by The Sun said the broadcaster is now “desperate to speak out” and has been speaking to lawyers about what he is allowed to say. That lines up with the brief statement Mills released after being sacked from Radio 2, when he said the police probe was closed seven years ago and asked the public to respect his wish not to make any further comment.
Another source described him as “slowly emerging into the light again” and said he was letting old friends, including Rylan, back in. But the key tension remains that Mills is said to want to answer the claims more fully while legal advice still limits what he can say publicly.
For now, the immediate answer is simple: the Eurovision Song Contest is on this week, but Mills is not expected to watch it. The show that once defined a stretch of his broadcasting life is going ahead without him, and he appears to be keeping his distance while deciding whether to speak at all.
