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The BBC has admitted that it was aware of a police investigation into allegations Scott Mills engaged in sexual offenses involving a teenage boy.

One of the BBC’s top radio presenters, Mills was dismissed on Tuesday, seemingly out of the blue. It soon emerged he had been questioned by police in 2018 in relation to the allegation.

Now the BBC has said that despite being aware of the investigation, it hired him last year to takeover from Zoe Ball on its flagship program “The Breakfast Show.”

“Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many,” a spokesperson for the BBC said in a statement on Wednesday. “We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.”

“What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March.”

“The BBC has made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards. Last year, following an independent culture review, we set out the behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC and we were clear action would be taken if these were not met. Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

The broadcasting corporation, which celebrated its centenary in 2022, has been under increasing scrutiny after a string of its top talent has been investigated by police for sexual offenses and in some cases charged. They include top news anchor Huw Edwards, who was convicted of possessing indecent images of children, TV and radio host Russell Brand, who is set to stand trial later this year for rape and sexual assault (which he denies), TV presenter Rolf Harris, who died in 2023 after serving prison time for sexual assault, and DJ Tim Westwood, who was accused of multiple counts of sexual misconduct, which he denies.

The most infamous sexual offender at the BBC remains TV presenter and radio DJ Jimmy Savile, whose decades of prolific sexual abuse came to light only after his death in 2011.

India holds one of the world’s largest film archives. Abhishek Prasad believes it is also one of the industry’s most underexploited commercial goldmines.

The director and CTO of Prasad Corp is not the only one making that argument. The NFDC-National Film Archive of India has been digitizing titles under the government-backed National Film Heritage Mission, while Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Film Heritage Foundation has spearheaded landmark restorations of classics including Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zamin” and Girish Kasaravalli’s “Ghatashraddha,” the latter in partnership with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation World Cinema Project. But where those efforts have been driven primarily by cultural imperatives, Prasad sees restoration increasingly as a commercial proposition – and one with global reach.

The Chennai-based post-production house has recently completed 8K restorations of a slate of Indian classics including “3 Idiots,” “Munnabhai MBBS,” “Lage Raho Munnabhai,” “1942: A Love Story,” and “Mission Kashmir,” drawn from the catalogue of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions, and “Athadu” headlined by Telugu-language cinema superstar Mahesh Babu. The company has also carried out 8K restoration work on classic Hollywood titles including “My Fair Lady” and “West Side Story.”

“When we restore a film in 8K, what we are really doing is rediscovering the extraordinary detail that already exists within the original film negative,” Prasad tells Variety. “Film as a medium contains far more visual information than earlier digital formats were able to capture.”

For titles such as “3 Idiots” or “Munnabhai MBBS,” the stakes go beyond technical quality. “These are not just films – they are cultural milestones,” Prasad says. “Preserving them in 8K ensures that they remain visually relevant for decades to come, whether they are screened in theaters, streamed globally, or archived for future formats that may emerge.”

The commercial logic behind high-resolution restoration has sharpened considerably as streaming platforms have come to depend on catalogue depth. Rights holders who once treated older films as passive assets are now managing them as long-term intellectual property portfolios, with restoration serving as the mechanism to unlock that value. “A properly restored film becomes technically viable for modern distribution channels,” Prasad says. “Catalogues that might once have been dormant are now being actively monetized.”

Restoration, in Prasad’s framing, effectively resets the commercial lifecycle of a film. A title restored to 8K with immersive audio can be re-licensed to global streaming platforms, re-released theatrically for anniversaries, programmed at festivals, or introduced to markets it never reached in its original run. “Restoration becomes the bridge that connects India’s cinematic past with the global digital distribution ecosystem of today,” he says.

The technical bar for such work is considerable. Prasad describes the 8K process as involving frame-by-frame repair, careful preservation of the film’s natural grain structure – which he distinguishes from noise, calling it “an essential part of the film’s visual character” – and preparation for HDR color spaces, high-dynamic-range displays and immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos. On working on Hollywood classics such as “My Fair Lady” and “West Side Story,” he says, “Projects of this nature demand an exceptional level of technical precision and respect for cinematic heritage.”

The scale of what remains unrestored in India is significant. Film negatives deteriorate through humidity, chemical decay and physical damage, and without timely intervention, important works risk being lost entirely. Prasad points to the National Film Heritage Mission as a crucial public-sector effort, while arguing that private studios and rights holders must also invest. “If approached systematically, India could potentially restore thousands of films over the coming decades,” he says, “ensuring both cultural preservation and renewed commercial value.”

Prasad Corp counts itself among a small number of facilities globally capable of offering end-to-end restoration services, covering physical film repair, chemical treatment, high-resolution scanning, digital restoration, colour grading and sound remastering. The company’s longer-term ambition is for India itself to emerge as a hub within the global preservation ecosystem.

“With the scale of our film heritage and the technical expertise that has developed in the country,” Prasad says, “India has the potential to contribute meaningfully to the global ecosystem of restoring and preserving cinema for future generations.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet has expanded the cast for her next feature and full English-language debut.

“Fonda” was first announced prior to Berlin Film Festival with Mia Goth (“Frankenstein”), Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”), Frank Dillane (“Urchin”) and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (“Candyman”) signed up to star and Allison Janney (“The West Wing,” “I Tonya”) in talks.

Now, Janney has officially joined the cast in addition to “Marty Supreme” breakout Odessa A’zion, fast-rising British star Ewan Mitchell (“House of the Dragon,” “Wuthering Heights”), three-time Emmy winner Cherry Jones (“24,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”) and established U.K. actor Benedict Wong (“Weapons,” “Doctor Strange”). Shooting is scheduled from April to June.

According to its synopsis, “Fonda” is a “psychological thriller set in a seemingly idyllic huis clos,” set to take audiences “on a vertiginous dive into the shifting limits of a sound mind, as grief and obsession take hold.”

“Fonda” reunites writer-director Triet with both her “Anatomy of a Fall” producers Marie-Ange Luciani (Les Films de Pierre) and David Thion (Les Films Pelléas), as well as sales agent MK2 Films. Delphine Tomson, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Belgian company Les Films du Fleuve (“Rosetta”) are co-producing the film. U.K. partners House Productions (“Conclave,” “The Zone of Interest”) and BBC Film have also joined the project as co-producers.

MK2 Films (“Sentimental Value”) is handling international sales and is also financing and co-producing, alongside Studiocanal’s Anna Marsh, Francois Mergier and Assia Barge. Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz and Fionnuala Jamison are also credited as producers. Studiocanal will distribute “Fonda” theatrically in its own territories including France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand. IPR.VC, with which MK2 Films has a multi-year financing deal, is also a financier. Casting for the film has been assembled by Cynthia Arra (“Anatomy of a Fall”) and Kharmel Cochrane (“Saltburn”). 

A new Dubai-based company called Storyfied Ventures dedicated to strategic partnerships between brands and entertainment content in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is being launched by producer and marketing executive Casper Shirazi. 

The startup outfit is being touted as “the region’s first strategic brand-entertainment partner built for the realities of a fast-shifting media and advertising landscape,” according to a statement.

Storyfied Ventures will operate “across film, television, documentaries, creator content, music-led entertainment, kids content, and branded storyworld extensions,” the statement said.

The company aims to “help brands turn their stories into monetisable intellectual property, with screen-IP as the anchor – then extend into consumer products, licensing, and other business lines where relevant,” it added.

Storyfied Ventures is backed by a board of directors comprising Catherine Barr, who is global head of marketing at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and a former global expansion and brand strategy leader for HBO Max; and Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer Joseph Lanius. Lanius will serve as Storyfied Ventures’ business affairs lead through his Convergence Media Law firm. His production credits include upcoming Mark Waters-directed “Hershey” movie.  

Shirazi’s production credits include upcoming foodie comedy “Holy Molé” toplining Tim Roth and Cristo Fernández.

“In today’s ultra-fragmented media landscape, brands need a true 360-degree relationship with audiences, and that only happens when storytelling is built as IP,” Shirazi noted in the statement.

“Short-form can drive discovery, but long-form screen content is what holds attention, deepens engagement, and creates lasting affinity. That’s the gap in the region today: there is no shortage of content, but there is a shortage of owned narrative IP that can extend brand relevance and turn audiences into advocates.”

Shirazi continued: “Our region is living through an incredibly difficult and defining period. But it is also entering a new one. Even in uncertain times, we are certain that this is the right place and the right time for Storyfied – when brand voices matter more than ever to help restore confidence, build trust, and connect more deeply with audiences. In what comes next, trust will be earned through the stories we tell. That’s why we now exist: to help define a new content economy for the region – built on brand-owned IP.”