Dr Michael Mosley’s wife has paid tribute to her “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband” after his body was found following a five-day search on the Greek holiday island of Symi.
A huge search operation was launched after Dr Mosley, 67, disappeared on Wednesday after reportedly setting off on a walk to the centre of Symi, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain and is about 25 miles north of Rhodes.
The body was discovered on Sunday with an umbrella in a rocky area near Agia Marina, close to a network of caves locally known as "The Abyss."
In a statement issued on behalf of Dr Mosley's wife, Clare Bailey Mosley, she expressed her profound grief and shared touching memories of her husband.
Mrs Mosley also revealed that he collapsed after taking the wrong route. "We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it. He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team," she explained.
"I don’t know quite where to begin with this. It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together," she said.
She praised her children for their resilience and support during this difficult time. "I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days," she said.
Dr Mosley’s colleagues hailed the late TV broadcaster, producer and columnist as a "national treasure" and a "kind and gentle man".Mimi Spencer, who co-authored The Fast Diet with Dr Mosley, paid tribute to him as "immediately likeable, genuinely funny" and said she will "miss him terribly".
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, she said: "In person he was very much the sort of figure that you would see on television: immediately likeable, genuinely funny, enthusiastic, he had this innate enthusiasm about life and he was always very generous with his time.
"He had a brilliant line in tangential anecdote which comes out of his broadcasting as well, that his mind would go down rabbit holes and come out with fantastic snippets of information, and talking to him in person was much like that, you never quite knew where you were going to arrive, but the journey was always fascinating."
Dr Saleyha Ahsan, Dr Mosley's co-presenter on Trust Me, I'm A Doctor, described him as "a national treasure" who put her at ease during her first audition for the BBC series.She also praised his "passion for explaining science to a wider audience", adding: "Making it accessible to anyone and everyone, not just a niche scientific crowd, but to everyone."
Academic and broadcaster Alice Roberts shared three pictures on social media with Mosley, with whom she first worked on her 2009 TV series Human Journey.
Prof Roberts said the "fragility of life is so shocking" as she recalled working with him and seeing him at the Hay Festival two weeks ago, adding: "I can't believe he's gone. My thoughts are with his bereaved family."
Celebrity chef and healthy eating campaigner Jamie Oliver praised the work Mosley had done for public health with his broadcasting and research.
Oliver wrote on Instagram: "What a wonderfully sweet, kind and gentle man he was. He did such 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."
Police feared Dr Mosley may have "fallen from a height" while walking along a rocky path that would have taken him from St Nicholas beach back to the village of Pedi.
CCTV later emerged showing the doctor strolling down a street in the village, shielded from the sun by an umbrella, indicating he crossed the dangerous path from the beach and made it back to the village.
Dr Mosley vanished after leaving the St Nicholas Beach restaurant at lunchtime on Wednesday. He and his wife had travelled by boat from Symi town, where they were staying in a villa, to St Nicholas beach. The return service was not due until 4pm and Dr Mosley opted to walk home on his own.
His wife raised the alarm at 7.30pm on Wednesday evening when she realised he had not returned to their villa.
Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas, the mayor of Symi, said "many troubling questions" remained about Dr Mosley's movements on the day he disappeared.
"You can easily get lost and it's not wise to walk it in the middle of the afternoon in temperatures approaching 40C [104F]. Why did he leave the beach, and his wife and friends? Why did he not take his telephone?"
The 67-year-old is well-known for his appearances on television programs such as This Morning and The One Show. He also hosted the Just One Thing health podcast for the BBC.
Dr Mosley is credited with popularising the 5:2 diet, which involves fasting for two days per week to lose weight.
More recently, he presented two series for Channel 4: Secrets Of Your Big Shop and Who Made Britain Fat?
It's hard to describe how upset I am by this news. Through courageous, science-based journalism, Michael Mosley has helped thousands of people get well and healthy. I'm one of them. He was a hero to me. He will be deeply missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. https://t.co/5qi8OfSKRh
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) June 9, 2024
Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, described Dr Mosley as a “hero” following the news.
“It’s hard to describe how upset I am by this news,” Mr Watson said posting on Twitter, formerly X.
“Through courageous, science-based journalism, Michael Mosley has helped thousands of people get well and healthy. I’m one of them.
“He was a hero to me. He will be deeply missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Mr Watson said in an interview after losing around 7st that Mosley’s The Fast Diet book was part of his weight-loss regime.
Angela Rippon has hailed Michael Mosley's contribution to keeping the nation healthy as "outstanding" following the TV doctor's death aged 67.
The broadcaster, who appeared in the BBC health series The Truth About... where Mosley was one of the co-presenters, said in a statement to the PA news agency: "Michael Mosley's contribution to keeping the nation healthy was outstanding.
"His Just One Thing broadcasts really did persuade people that by changing just one thing to their daily routine they could make a serious difference to their health and wellbeing.
"His death is such a tragedy. Sincere condolences to his family."
