As Vernon Kay misses out on Radio 2 Breakfast Slot job - the scandal that shook his marriage

Vernon Kay was left congratulating fellow Bolton-born presenter Sara Cox after he missed out on the Radio 2 Breakfast Slot he was tipped for. So could the 51-year-old’s checkered past have played a role in him missing out on the coveted role?

Scott Mills was sacked from his breakfast show last month after the BBC learned a police investigation into allegations of a historical sexual offence involved a person under 16. The BBC confirmed it knew about the police investigation into Mills in 2017, but said it “acted decisively” after receiving “new information” in the weeks before his sacking.

The corporation said it terminated Mills’ contracts on March 27, just days after taking him off air. His sacking was announced the following Monday (March 30). The 53-year-old last hosted his show on March 24 and signed off with: “See you tomorrow.”

Following Mills’ exit, Kay, who hosts a mid-morning show on the same channel, was tipped as the bookies’ favourite to replace him. Last month, the station’s head Helen Thomas said Vernon Kay continues to be “the most listened to show on UK radio”, attracting 6.7 million listeners each week.

However, on Friday (April 24), Vernon took to his own Radio 2 show to applaud Cox, who was ultimately announced as the new host last week. He said: “Congratulations to Sara Cox, your new Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, she's going to be absolutely awesome. Without a doubt, she's going to be mega."

The 51-year-old, who currently hosts the teatime show on the station from 4pm to 7pm, will take over the role in the summer. Cox said: “There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed.

Vernon Kay sexting scandal

Kay's marriage with TV star Tess Daly was tested in 2010 after he confessed to 'sexting' Page 3 girl Rhian Sugden. The pair, who me at a Bolton nightclub were reported to have been texting daily for four months.

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here contestant also admitted to sending flirty messages to "four or five girls" during the same period. The TV and radio presenter's representative stressed the relationship between Kay and Sugden had remained strictly non-physical. "They never at any point had a physical sexual relationship," the rep said.

During his Radio 1 show at the time, Kay said Daly was "extremely upset", adding how he was "an idiot" but not a "sex pest". He said: "I knew it was getting silly. I'm never going to do it again and hopefully I can clear the slate clean and start again," adding, "I'm so sorry. I've been an idiot and I've let my family down."

However, six years later, fresh allegations emerged, suggesting kay was again in in contact with Sugden. Hastily addressing the issue, he posted to social media saying: "I was contacted by Rhian out of the blue back in December regarding the story in 2010 claiming she had information she wanted to pass on.

"I recognise how it may look when messages are pulled out of context but there was never any inappropriate intent to our communication, I was merely trying to find answers to questions that I've had since 2010. Tess is aware of everything that has been discussed with Rhian."

However, The Sun claimed they had seen "hundreds of flirty texts" showing how he repeatedly tried to arrange a hotel meet-up with Sugden and stored her name in his phone under the name “Alice”. It was also reported he checked she was deleting all their exchanges.

Tess has remained tight-lipped about the messages but did say in an interview with The Times in 2017 that their marriage has endured its 'moments'. "Marriage is a work in progress," she said. "Vernon and I are just people, at the end of the day."