'It's become a place of fear and humiliation': How veteran BBC Radio 2 stars now live in terror of ruthless boss Helen who sees culling the old guard as a 'badge of honour'...

It was once the happy home of Britain’s most loved and listened to radio DJs. With a roster boasting broadcasting legends such as Sir Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce, Johnnie Walker and Simon Mayo, Radio 2’s London headquarters was a place of joy and aspiration.

But after a flood of departures, things have taken a very sorry turn.

Today, inside sources say, a ‘deep depression’ hangs over the station. There are even fears for its future as its stars sit ‘waiting for their turn to get sacked’, like many of their predecessors.

‘Radio 2 is a shell of its former self,’ says my source. ‘It’s like an ice rink – it’s slippery and nobody knows who is going to fall next.

‘It used to be a place full of so much positivity – brimming with it, in fact. It was a jolly place to be. Now it’s a place of fear and humiliation. It feels like nothing is going right.’

Insiders say there has been a ‘horrid atmosphere’ since the hugely popular Scott Mills was sacked in March after he was accused of historical sexual offences (despite the police dropping the case some years ago due to lack of evidence).

However, the unrest at the station didn’t start with Mills. That came in 2019 when Mayo resigned from his drive-time show after a gender diversity push saw him forcibly paired with Jo Whiley.

It heralded a flood of departures. Mayo, 67, was followed out of the door by Radio 2 veteran Steve Wright. The legendary DJ recorded his last afternoon show in 2022 after 23 years before dying unexpectedly just 18 months later.

Ken Bruce summarily ended his more than 30-year relationship with the station in 2023. Zoe Ball quit her breakfast show in December 2024 – then her weekend slots the following December – while even Bob Harris stood down in June.

Trevor Nelson is also on leave after becoming ill.

The departures have left those who remain terrified for their jobs.

‘It’s like dominoes,’ says my source. ‘Simon went and then the others started to fall. It was a huge moment and has left listeners disappointed and turning off to move elsewhere. What is going to happen? Who is the next person to be doomed? We don’t know and that’s the worry.

‘There’s fear from the DJs for themselves but they also care deeply about their listeners who’ve been left devastated by the departure of their favourite people.’

Sources inside the station point the finger at its controller, Helen Thomas, who was promoted to Head of Station for Radio 2 in 2020 after joining in 2003. Although she is what BBC staff call a ‘lifer’ within Radio 2, I’m told she is no longer popular with the troops – regardless of their seniority.

Ms Thomas was behind the sacking of Mills after learning his accuser was under 16 at the time of the alleged offence. The decision went down badly with both Ms Thomas’s staff and listeners alike, although many accept there was justification for an investigation. Other oustings, however, have left staff baffled and upset. She was behind the unpopular decision to remove much-loved Wright from his afternoon show in 2022 and replace him with Mills.

She is also very much blamed for Ken Bruce’s exit a year later. Although it was his own choice to leave, he was told to step down earlier than his agreed departure date.

‘Rather than be worried about the audience, Helen sees the culling of the old school talent as a badge of honour,’ says my source. ‘The problem is that she can’t see that it is making Radio 2 very unpopular with the listeners.

‘She has her eye on promotion, and that means she is enjoying being seen as someone who solves problems. The issue is she seems to be creating more of them. Many of those listening at home are older, love stability and don’t like change. There have been so many changes recently it has been hard to keep up.’

Since his sacking, Mills is reported to have launched legal action against the BBC, though top brass will be pleased not to have him on the payroll, given his hefty salary of £745,000 to £749,999.

‘It was awful for Scott,’ says my insider, ‘but the BBC stand by getting rid of him.

‘The doom and the darkness since have been difficult for the young staff to navigate.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any loyalty any more. There was no time for anyone to fight Scott’s corner – he was gone within a couple of days.’

However, replacing Scott with Sara Cox – the 51-year-old Lancastrian DJ who made her name as one of the infamous ‘ladettes’ back in the 1990s – was, say insiders, the right decision.

She was promoted from her Drivetime show to the higher profile slot, but – with a salary of between £320,000 and £324,999 – she is costing half her predecessor’s pay.

‘She deserved to get the role,’ says my source. ‘It gave you some hope that the right people were getting the jobs. Like there was a little bit of light amid the dark.’

It’s also fair to say that Radio 2’s line-up is facing scrutiny over its salaries. While Mills’s, recently published, was a surprise to colleagues, also up there is Vernon Kay, the host of the station’s mid-morning show, who takes home £405,000 annually.

Another issue riling staff is the decision to bring in names such as Paddy McGuinness, Romesh Ranganathan and Emma Willis to host weekend shows, given they are unpopular among older listeners.

In fact, my snitch says there have been ‘extensive complaints’ in letters to the BBC and across social media about hiring them: ‘They are all new to Radio 2, there is a serious overhaul going on in front of our eyes and there is nothing that any of the stars can do about it. It’s terrifying.’

With so many changes, it’s hard to forecast that this deep depression is set to lift any time soon.