Unofficial Mills began back in 2004 as a school ICT project by a 15-year-old radio fan called Jono Read. What started as a small fan site with a handful of sound clips and a simple forum quickly exploded, thanks to the support of Radio 1 listeners and the unexpected mentions it received on air. Before long, Unofficial Mills became one of the most loved unofficial resources for Radio 1 — a proper community that’s lasted two decades.
Twenty years on, Unofficial Mills is still here. Still busy. Still home to fans who love the chaos, humour and heart of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 family. The Scott Mills archive, the latest presenter news, the forums, the shoutbox, the nostalgia… it all lives here because people keep coming back.
But running a site this size isn’t cheap. As traffic grows and more people visit for presenter updates and archive material, the cost of keeping the site fast, secure and online goes up too. Everything from server upgrades to backups, forum software, bandwidth, design work and coding support has to be paid for — and for years it’s all been funded personally.
I’ve always tried to avoid plastering the site with intrusive adverts or making anything feel corporate. The whole point of Unofficial Mills is that it feels fan-run and personal, not like a brand trying to sell you something. But as the site expands — especially with Scott now on Radio 2 Breakfast, boosting traffic massively — the bills grow with it.
If you enjoy the articles, the forums, the archive, the nostalgia, or the silly bits that have kept this place alive since 2004… supporting the site on Ko-fi genuinely helps keep it running. Every donation goes straight back into server upgrades, faster loading times, backing up the archive, uploading podcasts, and keeping the forums and shoutbox updated with the latest tech.
Thank you for being part of this community — whether you’ve been here since the Scott and Chappers days or you’ve only just discovered us. If you’d like to help keep Unofficial Mills online for the future, even donating the cost of a coffee means more than you know. ❤️
