Breakfast show host Scott Mills (pictured) has launched the UK’s first podcast for van drivers.
Mills partnered with Mercedes-Benz Vans to launch the ‘Under the Bonnet’ podcast, a series of 30-minute episodes in conversation with celebrities and guests to understand what makes Britain’s van drivers tick.
Mills, whose dad ran a removals company and drove a van, recorded the series in the front of a specially adapted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, discussing everything from service stations to the changing face of van drivers.
The series, launched to celebrate 30 years of the Sprinter, also delves into findings from the second annual Mercedes-Benz ‘Vans Under the Bonnet’ report, which shows how van drivers have become a barometer for modern Britain.
The report revealed that 84% of drivers said they can sense the mood of the nation by what happens out on the road and the behaviour of fellow road users – while conversations about potholes have overtaken football as the number one ice-breaker when talking to a stranger.
The first episode of the ‘Under the Bonnet’ podcast saw Mills in conversation with BBC Celebrity MasterChef judge and food critic Grace Dent, who revealed her guilty pleasure is dining out at a motorway service station.
The Mercedes-Benz report revealed that 65% of van drivers have suffered from depression or anxiety.
In the second episode, Mills opened up about his own mental health challenges as he talked to van driver David Curtis about the mental load of life on the road.
Mills said: “As a child I spent hours sitting in the front of my dad’s van, so recording a podcast in a Sprinter wasn’t strange for me at all!
“Having grown up around it, I’ve seen first-hand the invaluable role van drivers play in the UK.
“I’m proud to bring the Under the Bonnet podcast to the van driver community who work so hard round-the-clock to keep our businesses moving, our shops stocked and our deliveries made.”
Iain Forsyth, managing director at Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, said: “Scott Mills is the voice of the UK in the mornings so who better to become the voice of our Under the Bonnet podcast as we mark 30 years of the iconic Sprinter van.
“Since we launched the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in 1995 the world has changed and so have our van drivers, back then drivers only had radio for company.
“Our Under the Bonnet research shows its podcasts they now switch on, so it made sense to create a dedicated podcast just for our drivers that talks to them about the challenges they face day-to-day.
“We’re really excited to launch the Under the Bonnet podcast to shine our full beams on the reality of van life.”
