SCOTT Mills shot to national fame in 1998 when, on his fourth day on Radio One's Early Morning Breakfast Show, Zoe Ball fell sick leaving him to head up a five-hour stint on air.

"All my family tell me that since I was really small I just wanted to play records," Scott told the Daily Echo in 2004 after landing his own prime time afternoon show.

"It really was a dream of mine to work on Radio One, probably from the age of about eight. I liked the sound of the whole station and I wanted to be part of it - it sounded big and exciting.

"I used to make tapes of myself pretending to be a DJ - I was probably pretending to be on Radio One, which is quite scary!"

Scott didn't have to wait too long for his media dreams to start coming true.

At 15 the Crestwood Community School pupil came to the Southern Daily Echo on work experience before landing a Saturday job at Power FM where he was given his own late-night show a year later.

After years of the dreaded "graveyard" shifts at regional stations and later at Radio One, Mills emerged as one of the station's most popular presenters.

These days the Scott Mills show entertains millions on their way home from work every weekday.

But the presenter still finds time to visit his old haunts.

"Southampton's where I started my whole career and it's the place that I know the best so I like coming home" he told the Daily Echo.

"You get that feeling when you come home of just being glad to be there. I just think it's a really nice city. I've always thought that but I'm biased I suppose. I'm actually quite proud of it."

Name: Scott Mills Occupation: Radio One DJ Date of Birth: 28 March, 1974 Hampshire Hook: Born in Southampton and brought up in Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford