Michael Mosley: The BBC doctor's body found in Greece after going missing

On 6 June 2024 news came out that TV doctor Michael Mosley had gone missing in Greece. According to BBC News, Mosley ‘was last seen on Wednesday [5 June 2024]’ in the afternoon. The publication also explained that at the time of his disappearance Mosley was at the beach with his wife, Clare, before deciding to go for a walk alone - a story all too familiar after the disappearance of Julian Sands in 2023.

On 7 June, the search for the presenter resumed even though sources told the Daily Mail that there was ‘just no trace’ of him. More officers had joined the search for the 67-year-old. A couple of days later, on 9 June 2024, a body was discovered very close to a beach and a few hours later it was confirmed as Michael Mosley's body.

Michael Mosley found dead

On Sunday 9 June 2024, Michael Mosley's wife, Dr Clare Bailey, confirmed via a statement that the body found was the one of her husband. In her statement, Bailey described her husband as 'wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant'. She also explained that the cause of his death is believed to be accidental. She wrote:

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

According to reports, Mosley's body was found near a beach resort, on a rocky mountain. The Telegraph develops:

CCTV footage shows Dr Mosley gingerly walking down a rocky mountain near the perimeter fence of the Agia Marina resort before he appears to stumble and fall out of view, just over two hours after he left his wife and friends

Reports also find that, in a tragic twist of fate, Mosley's body was only 'a stone’s throw from the throngs of tourists relaxing on sun loungers on the other side of the chain link fence'. The Telegraph wrote that '‌the search covered ground agonisingly close to where his body was eventually found, just 50 yards from the beach.' However, it took five days fo the body to be found and identified.

The Telegraph also reports that a local coroner is ruling out foul play. However, further examination will be needed to define the cause of death. His body has been transferred to Rhodes where these procedures will be performed.

Michael Mosley's disappearance timeline

According to reports, Michael Mosley went missing on Wednesday afternoon. At the time, he and his wife Clare were on Saint Nikolas beach, Symi Island, Greece. The Independent reported that Mosley decided to go on a walk, by himself. The publication wrote:

He was last seen heading onto the coastal path back to the nearby town of Pedi wearing a pair of shorts, a blue polo shirt, baseball cap and sunglasses.

At 7.30pm, the TV doctor had failed to return to their accommodation and his wife raised the alarm. The walk was only supposed to last 20 minutes. The path he chose to take has been described by locals as ‘clear’. The local woman who shared her thoughts with BBC News continued:

[...] it’s nothing dangerous, many people go every day, every few minutes, that’s the reason it’s very strange because it’s a clear path.

Talking to Daily Mail at the time when the search was still ongoing; the police admitted that they were not ruling anything out. A police source explained:

He may have slipped and fallen, perhaps because of a heart attack along the way

The same source added that, though the search for Mosley had started along the path he supposedly took for his walk, the amount of time already spent has forced the search to be extended to other parts of the Island.

BBC News, speaking to the island's deputy mayor, Ilias Chaskas was told that the search task force had ‘looked everywhere’ and that they would have ‘divers looking into the water’. The island’s mayor, Mr Papakalodoukas added that it was ‘impossible’ that Mosley was still there. He clarified:

It is a very small, controlled area, full of people so if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now

The mayor also put forward ideas that Mosley had not taken the assumed path and that he had fallen into the sea.

The weather conditions in Greece were and still are extreme; with temperatures varying from 35 to 40 degrees celsius.

New found information that led to Mosley's body being discovered prove that the man made a wrong turn and ended up on a wrong path. CCTV footage shows him 'carrying an umbrella' to shield himself from the scorching sun. More footage shows him walk past a cafe at 1.52pm before embarking on the wrong path.

At 3.44pm on the day of his disappearance, footage shows him struggling on the rocky mountain, falling and not getting back up. Mosley was on the other side of the island then.

Michael Mosley, more about the famous TV doctor

Michael Mosley is known by many as the TV doctor who is always talking about diet and exercise. He has been doing so for the last two decades on huge channels such as BBC and ITV.

At the beginning of his career, Mosley worked in finance but, the BBC explains, after two years he got ‘bored’ of it and decided to retrain as a doctor. However, in a surprising turn, he chose not to become a medical professional and instead joined the BBC as an assistant producer in 1985. He worked on science programmes.

Then, Mosley became a presenter and guest on shows. As a host he has been presenting Trust me, I’m A Doctor on BBC Two since 2013. In 2022, he presented a two-art series on Channel 4 called Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? The channel describes the show this way — it’s an exploration of ‘why can't politicians halt the steep rise in the number of Brits living with obesity?’

Throughout his career, Mosley has also appeared as a guest on This Morning and gained traction when he did things many would consider unwise. For instance in 2019, for the programme The Wonderful World of Blood – With Michael Mosleyhe injected himself with snake venom to see the impact it would have.

His approach to diet has been seen controversial in the past which doesn’t stop the presenter from having a podcast on BBC Radio 4 called Just One Thing.

Concerning his personal life, Michael Mosley has been married to GP Clare Bailey since 1987 and the two have four children.

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Sources:

The Independent: Michael Mosley missing - latest: Search resumes for TV doctor after ‘strange’ disappearance on Greek island - LIVE coverage

BBC News: Search resumes for missing presenter Michael Mosley

BBC News: Who is the missing TV personality Michael Mosley?

Channel 4 – Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat?

The Telegraph: Michael Mosley lay undiscovered for five days, CCTV shows