Former BBC Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills was interviewed by police following the drug-related death of his boyfriend twenty-six years ago, a tragic incident that has resurfaced amid recent controversies. Mitchell Berger, aged twenty-one and originally from Barry in South Glamorgan, was discovered unconscious alongside two other men at a flat in Holborn, central London, in March 2000, coinciding with the night of the Brit Awards.
Fatal Overdose and Police Investigation
While medics managed to save the other two individuals, doctors were unable to revive Mr Berger, who succumbed to an overdose. During their investigation, police located an address book in his flat containing contact details for Scott Mills, who was twenty-six at the time and preparing his Radio 1 'early-bird' show backstage at the Brit Awards. According to Mills' 2012 autobiography, Love You, Bye: My Story, he had met Mitchell ten months earlier; Mitchell worked in a gay bar in Soho.
The Metropolitan Police stated at the time that the death was not treated as suspicious, but officers still interviewed Mills as part of their enquiries. This revelation emerges concurrently with news that Mills was separately interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police between 2016 and 2019 regarding serious historical sex offences against a teenage boy. That case was ultimately dropped in 2018 due to insufficient evidence.
Emotional Impact and Personal Struggles
In his book, Mills fondly recalled Mitchell as 'the funniest, most handsome bloke with the loveliest family.' Shortly before the tragedy, the couple, who lived together, had enjoyed a two-week holiday in Miami, which Mills described as 'one of the best holidays I've ever been on.' He vividly recounted the moment police broke the devastating news: 'I was woken up by a phone call. It was the kind of call everyone dreads. The police were waiting in reception and wanted to talk to me.'
Mills detailed his shock and grief, stating, 'Everything stopped. I felt a huge pain in my stomach and I couldn't hear anything that was being said. I just stood staring at the policeman in disbelief.' He added that the officer mentioned drugs and an accident, but nothing made sense in that instant. A year later, Mills publicly came out as gay, attributing Mitchell's death to a downward spiral of excessive drinking and depression. He wrote, 'I returned to work and tried to get things back to normal, but they weren't normal. I missed Mitch terribly, and it's fair to say my drinking got out of control for a while.'
Historical Sex Offence Allegations
The Metropolitan Police investigation from 2016 to 2019 is believed to have been part of Operation Winter Key, linked to Operation Yewtree—the specialist unit established to probe high-profile personalities accused of sex crimes in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal. The victim, reportedly from the South of England and under the age of sixteen, alleged offences occurring between 1997 and 2000.
In a statement, the Met confirmed: 'In December 2016, the Met began an investigation following a referral from another police force. The investigation related to allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy. As part of these enquiries, a man who was in his 40s at the time of the interview, was questioned by police under caution in July 2018. A full file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who determined the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. Following this advice, the investigation was closed in May 2019.'
These disclosures follow Mills' dismissal from his BBC Radio 2 position on Monday due to allegations concerning his 'personal conduct,' adding another layer to the ongoing scrutiny of his past.
