TV presenter Michael Mosley found dead on Greek island: Police

Mosley made science and history documentaries and was known as a health guru in front of the camera and as the author of best-selling diet books.

• Vivek Mishra
• 10 June, 2024

By: Vivek Mishra

British health expert and TV personality Michael Mosley was found dead on Sunday on the Greek island of Symi, days after he went missing, police reported.

“People on a boat saw a body close to the rocky coast,” said Petros Vassilakis, police chief for the southern Aegean region.

The body was discovered by a television crew from Greece’s ERT public channel, which was filming in the area where the 67-year-old disappeared on Wednesday after setting out for a coastal walk alone in the heat.

“It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind, and brilliant husband,” his wife, Clare Bailey, said in a statement confirming his death.

“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route, and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team,” she said.

Bailey Mosley expressed gratitude to the people on Symi who worked “tirelessly” to help find her husband, some working “from dawn till dusk unasked.”

ERT reporter Aristides Miaoulis reported that one of the crew’s cameramen “saw something strange near the fence, 50 metres (164 feet) from the sea.”

“We discovered it was this man… He was lying down (on his back),” he said.

Symi mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas, who was also with the crew, confirmed they had found Mosley, who had been on holiday on the island with his wife.

“It’s the body of the journalist that we have been looking for over several days,” he told ERT.

Papakalodoukas noted that Symi has been experiencing “insufferable heat” and the area where Mosley was last seen was “difficult because it’s very rocky.”

Coroner Despina Nathena told ERT that Mosley’s death did not appear to be the result of a criminal act. However, Nathena could not “determine the exact cause of death” due to the delay in finding his body.

Much of Greece has seen record temperatures in the first week of June, reaching 39.3 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) on Symi, which is near Rhodes and western Turkey.

Greek authorities had announced on Friday they were intensifying the search for Mosley, who had transitioned from working as an investment banker to qualifying as a medical doctor, and later became a successful presenter, documentary maker, journalist, and author.

Mosley made science and history documentaries and was known as a health guru in front of the camera and as the author of best-selling diet books.

He popularised the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet and was known for British TV programmes such as “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” and his BBC radio podcast “Just One Thing.” He also regularly appeared on BBC’s “The One Show” and ITV’s “This Morning” and was a columnist for the Daily Mail newspaper.

Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of the UK’s Labour party who lost weight with the help of one of Mosley’s books, paid tribute to a “hero” who produced “courageous, science-based journalism.”

Mosley’s co-presenter on “Trust Me, I’m A Doctor,” Saleyha Ahsan, told BBC News he had a passion for making science “accessible to anyone and everyone.”

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “He was a brilliant science broadcaster and programme maker, able to make the most complex subjects simple… (and) inspiring us all to live a healthier, fuller life.”

(AFP)