How inspirational TV doctor Michael Mosley changed millions of lives for the better as touching tributes pour in
TELLY chef Jamie Oliver led tributes to TV doctor Michael Mosley, who was hailed for changing the lives of millions of dieters for the better through his inspirational work.
The body of Dr Mosley, 67, was found on Greek island Symi yesterday — four days after his wife Clare reported him missing.
Naked Chef star Jamie, 49, called the news “absolutely devastating” and described him as a “wonderfully sweet, kind and gentle man”.
Dad-of-four Dr Mosley was a tireless health and diets campaigner and regularly appeared on The One Show and This Morning.
Writing on Instagram, Jamie said: “He did a lot of good for public health with his TV shows and research.
“He was a curious investigator, producer and presenter and often changed the conversation around many public health issues for the better. He will be sadly missed. Love and thoughts to Clare and all of his family.”
Former Blue Peter and GMTV host Anthea Turner, 64, said: “This was the tragic news we all feared.
“With so much passion and a cheeky smile on his face he spent his life encouraging us all to make healthy choices.
“He wanted everyone to live a longer, better, more fulfilled life.
“His family will be broken — thinking of them and his friends on Symi.”
Among the telly medic’s TV shows was Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.
His co-presenter Dr Saleyha Ahsan described him as a “national treasure” and a “hugely talented” man.
She said Dr Mosley immediately put her “at ease” when she auditioned for the BBC series.
Dr Ahsan said: “I can now appreciate that he’s a one-off — not everyone is able to make other people feel so at ease with lights and cameras in front of them.
“But then to forget about all of that and just to focus on the science, on the story, on the message that we’re trying to get out . . . such a talented man, hugely talented.
“Michael’s a national treasure and so personable.” Dr Ahsan also praised Dr Mosley’s ability and “passion for explaining science to a wider audience”.
MY VIEW
Early yesterday we headed to Agia Marina with British journalists to view the area known as the Abyss caves following fears Dr Michael Mosley may have fallen in there.
What we found was much worse than anything I could have ever imagined.
He had endured more than a two-hour walk in searing temperatures to get to this point.
Sun photographer Simon Jones and I wanted to film a piece explaining the latest development.
But we were interrupted by the bar’s manager who was indicating he had seen something on the other side of the barbed wire fence.
I peered over and saw the body of Dr Mosley, with a dropped umbrella nearby.
I froze. It was horrifying and incredibly overwhelming. I was hit by an intense shock and sadness. I felt sick and at several points I was on the verge of tears.
It is among the saddest stories I have worked on.
Immediately I dashed back to the restaurant area where everyone else was to help raise the alarm.
“There’s a body over there,” I said, as the bar manager got his colleague to phone the police.
It then became chaotic. I was still trying to process what I had just seen.
Staff were running around and trying to keep people away as tourists were coming up trying to see what was going on.
I was here to report on the search for Dr Michael Mosley.
The tragedy of this is that he was just yards from the beach resort where he could have sat and had water.
Search parties were looking so close to this area in the previous days without noticing his exposed body, and even a low-flying helicopter had scoured the terrain. But he was never found.
By Ed Southgate, in Symi
Professor Alice Roberts, who worked with Dr Mosley on several TV projects, posted pictures on X/Twitter of them together.
“She said: “The fragility of life is so shocking. I’ve known Michael Mosley for many years — as a TV producer specialising in science and medicine. He was the executive producer of my 2009 series Human Journey.
“When he started presenting as well as producing, we made several science programmes together.
“And we met up at Hay Festival just two weeks ago. I can’t believe he’s gone.
“My thoughts are with his bereaved family.”
Former doctor Adam Kay, who wrote the book This Is Going To Hurt, which was later made into a BBC series, said it was “desperately sad” to hear the news.
“He said on X: “My thoughts with his family — may his memory be a blessing.”
Dr Adam Rutherford, a TV colleague of Dr Mosley’s, said: “I am so sad to hear of the death of Michael Mosley.
Lots of people will feel they lost a helpful friend
Nerina Pallot
“We worked on various BBC science projects together. He will be missed, and my thoughts go to his family. Life is fragile.”
Ultravox singer Midge Ure wrote online: “So sad about Michael Mosley. It’s amazing how one ‘cog in the machine’, one life in a world of billions can have an impact on others. I never met him, but we all knew him.”
Dr Mosley’s dad, Bill, died aged 74 from diabetes-related complications and Michael himself was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012.
But he cured himself through intermittent fasting and became a huge advocate of the 5:2 diet.
He wrote several books on dieting.
British singer Nerina Pallot said on X: “Unbearably sad news about Michael Mosley. You may never have met him, but if you lost weight because of one of his books, there will be some part of you that felt indebted to him.
“A lot of people will feel like they lost a helpful friend. Thanks for everything, Dr Mosley.”
Anna Bond, managing director of Octopus Publishing Group, which released Dr Mosley’s books, said: “From his ground-breaking book The Fast Diet in 2013 to his most recent life-changing book Just One Thing in 2022, it has been a joy, a pleasure and a privilege to work closely with him on his bestselling books that have changed millions of people’s lives for the better.
“A talented TV presenter and producer, he dedicated his time to educating and empowering millions across the world to live longer, healthier lives.
“His powerful legacy is a gift that will live on as viewers, listeners and readers continue to enjoy a better quality of life via his books and his journalism, TV programmes, the Fast 800 community, and his BBC podcast, Just One Thing. A brilliant, warm, funny and kind man, Michael will be so greatly missed.”
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “He was a brilliant broadcaster, able to make the most complex subjects simple.
“But he was also passionate about engaging and entertaining audiences, inspiring us all to live a healthier, fuller life.
He did a lot of good for public health on his shows
Jamie Oliver
“He will be hugely missed by many people, not least those fortunate enough to have worked with him at the BBC.”
TV star and Sun columnist Ulrika Jonsson said: “Such tragic news. What a lovely, lovely man. Thinking of his family.”
Loose Women host Kaye Adams wrote online: “We really have lost one of the good guys.
“I’ve interviewed him countless times and he was always the same — kind, interesting, interested and warm. Heartfelt condolences to loved ones.”
Michael was a national treasure & so talented
TV’s Dr Ahsan
GMB presenter Ranvir Singh said: “Terribly sad news. Thank you for changing the lives of thousands of people — including mine — for the better.”
A post on This Morning’s X page said: “We’re all heartbroken to hear that Michael Mosley has died at the age of 67.
“His wife Clare has paid tribute to her ‘wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband’.
“Everyone at This Morning is thinking of Clare, their four children and the rest of Michael’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.”
Saved health of the masses
HE changed the face of weight loss all over the world with the revolutionary 5:2 diet.
Michael Mosley helped transform the health of millions with his intermittent fasting plan through his groundbreaking shows and books.
Fame, though, hadn’t been Michael’s plan.
Born in Calcutta, India, Michael studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford, and worked as an investment banker.
But he quit to study medicine, meeting wife Clare on his first day at the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1982.
Michael later changed careers again.
This time he went into TV, working as a producer and then hitting our screens in the nineties on Trust Me, I’m a Doctor.
And in 2002 he was nominated for an Emmy for BBC science documentary The Human Face.
But it was with the invention of the 5:2 diet — drastically reducing your calorie intake on two days a week — that saw his career really take off.
Michael — who reversed his own Type 2 diabetes — sold 1.4million copies of The Fast Diet, which has also been translated into 40 languages.
It was also his gonzo approach to science that earned Michael a legion of fans.
For BBC doc The Wonderful World Of Blood he ate black pudding made with his own blood and attached a leech to his arm.
He also injected himself with snake venom — but wife Clare stepped in to stop him “infesting myself with pubic lice”.
But Michael Mosley’s warm TV persona and ability to make complex science relatable meant he was often stopped in the street by people desperate to share their stories of success.
He once said: “It’s a fantastic feeling when people tell you that you’ve helped to turn their lives around. There is a great power in taking control of your life.”
Timeline of Dr Mosley's disappearance
WEDNESDAY JUNE 5
- 1.30pm: Dr Mosley decides to walk home alone to his holiday home in the town of Symi after going for a swim at a beach
- 1.50pm: The walk home is said to take around 20 minutes from Saint Nikolaos beach despite the doctor never making it back
- 1.52pm: CCTV catches Dr Mosley walking past a shop in Pedi
- Approx 2.20pm: Witnesses claim to have seen Dr Mosley talking to an elderly man in the town with one other person present
- 2.30pm-5pm: Doc was last seen on a house camera on a treacherous path heading towards the Agia Marina
- 7.30pm: Dr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey, raises the alarm and calls cops
THURSDAY JUNE 6
- 10.30am: Police file missing person report and the search gets underway
- 11am: Police appeal for any information
- 2pm: Six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team were all seen arriving in Symi from Rhodes
- 7pm: Helicopters deployed over the island
- 8pm: First day of the search called off for the night
FRIDAY JUNE 7
- 7am Extra police squadrons, coast guard officials, specially-trained sniffer dogs and military helicopters helped in the search
- 5pm The first CCTV images are released of Dr Mosley with his umbrella near the Blue Corner bar
SATURDAY JUNE 8
- 7am Police launch a search of a new area of around 7km as they step up the hunt
- 10.50am: New CCTV is released showing Mosley leaving Pedi and heading towards mountainous path
- 11am Symi’s mayor says ‘no chance’ search will be called off until he is found
- 12pm Mosley’s wife Clare says the family will ‘not lose hope‘ but confesses the last few days have been ‘unbearable’
- 3pm A helicopter joins the search effort in the mountains
SUNDAY JUNE 9
- 10.50am Body found in the search close to caves known as ‘The Abyss’
- 11am Police say they believe the body to be that of Dr Mosley
- 2.50pm Body removed by boat from Symi
- 3.30pm Dr Clare Bailey confirms her ‘wonderful’ husband’s death