BBC to air special programmes for Michael Mosley

Michael Mosley holding up a petri dish
  • Published

The BBC has announced that it will air two special tributes to TV presenter Dr Michael Mosley following his death on the Greek island of Symi.

One of the programmes will include a recording of the last interview he conducted.

Dr Mosley's remains were found in a rocky area on Sunday - four days after he went missing while on holiday.

An initial post-mortem examination concluded on Monday that he died of natural causes.

Separate toxicology and histology reports have been ordered but the results have not yet been released.

The first of the two programmes, There's Only One Michael Mosley, will air on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds at 11:00 BST on Friday 14 June.

It will feature the last interview Dr Mosley conducted, recorded in the BBC tent as part of the Hay Festival in May.

For the interview, titled How to Live a Good Life, Dr Mosley spoke to Paul Bloom, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale University.

The BBC says it sees the presenter "at his best, full of warmth, insight and thoroughly enjoying his time with the audience".

A second special programme, Michael Mosley - The Doctor Who Changed Britain, will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 14 June at 20:00 BST.

The programme will "look back at an extraordinary broadcasting career which spanned almost 40 years", the BBC says.

Dr Mosley, who studied medicine in London and qualified as a doctor, was known for BBC TV programmes including Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, and Radio 4's Just One Thing podcast. He also wrote a column for the Daily Mail.

He was an advocate for intermittent fasting diets, including through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.

The 67-year-old father-of-four was reported missing after he set off for a walk from Agios Nikolaos beach - near where he was staying on the northeast side of the island - at about 13:30 local time (11:30 BST) on Wednesday.

Despite an extensive search by the Greek authorities, his body was not found near Agia Marina beach until Sunday by local journalists, staff and the mayor.

The owner of Agia Marina, Michalis Antoniadis, told the BBC he is still in shock and feels guilt that Dr Mosley was not found sooner.

"We did our best," he said, adding that he was "very sorry" about the outcome.

It is thought that Dr Mosley died at around 16:00 (14:00 BST) on Wednesday, the day he went missing.

Police said the initial conclusion that he died of natural causes was based on the position his body was found in, as well as a lack of injuries.

The BBC has seen CCTV footage, taken near the Agia Marina beach bar, which appears to show Dr Mosley disappear from view as he slowly makes his way down a hillside close to where his body was later found. He then collapses out of view behind a wall.

New CCTV seen on Tuesday shows Dr Mosley walking through Pedi.

He is seen heading for a trail that leads towards Agia Marina 1.5 miles away, where he died.

Media caption,

Michael Mosley: CCTV shows last sighting on way to path. Credit: MEGA TV

Tributes to Dr Mosley have continued to pour in from both his former colleagues and members of the public.

Friend and fellow broadcaster Dr Hannah Fry told the BBC's One Show about an instance in which Dr Mosley had saved a woman's life.

"Somebody collapsed in the BBC offices in the corridors, and he saw them collapse," said Dr Fry.

"He went over, he performed CPR on them for almost half an hour until the emergency services arrived.

"[He] saved her life, she's gone on to have two children."

One member of the public said that Dr Mosley "had the ability to reach out to all walks of life", while another said that she often uses his advice about breathing slowly to calm anxiety.