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BBC to air specials on Michael Mosley’s legacy and final interview he conducted

He first trained as a doctor before moving into the world of broadcasting, presenting a host of science programmes and films on the BBC

Ellie Iorizzo
Tuesday 11 June 2024 17:19 BST
TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley died while on holiday (John Rogers/BBC)
TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley died while on holiday (John Rogers/BBC) (PA Media)

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The BBC has outlined the details of two programmes that will remember TV presenter and columnist Michael Mosley, who died while on holiday in Greece.

Michael Mosley – The Doctor Who Changed Britain will take a look at his almost four decades of broadcasting following the 67-year-old’s body being found after he went missing on the island of Symi on Wednesday.

Mosley was discovered in a rocky area near Agia Marina beach on Sunday.

He first trained as a doctor before moving into the world of broadcasting, presenting a host of science programmes and films on the BBC including the series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, which looked at healthcare in Britain.

The BBC One special, broadcast on Friday at 8pm, will look at how he transformed people’s lives and was an executive producer following him working on the shows Pompeii – The Last Day; Krakatoa Revealed; Life Before Birth, and Supervolcano.

The corporation said: “His programmes have made a lasting impact on the nation’s health habits from intermittent fasting to the benefits of a cold shower.

“Michael also shared his own struggles with audiences worldwide; as a chronic insomniac he made programmes about sleep and, ever curious, he would also go to extremes in the pursuit of science, even infecting himself with a tapeworm.

“Celebrating Michael’s career, this programme marks the enormous impact he made, touching the lives of so many.”

Another programme, There’s Only One Michael Mosley, will air on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds from Friday at 11am, and will contain the last interview the TV doctor conducted.

He recorded a special edition of Just One Thing, in which he regularly revealed tips to help improve your health, at the Hay Festival on May 25 with Professor Paul Bloom.

His wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, also a doctor, author and health columnist, was also in attendance in the audience of the event.

The recording will be introduced by TV doctor and presenter Chris van Tulleken, who Mosley worked with as part of Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

Mosley is credited with popularising the 5:2 diet, a form of intermittent fasting, through his book The Fast Diet which he co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer, and later advocating for The Fast 800 diet, which follows a “moderately low-carb, Mediterranean-style diet”.

In 2002, he was nominated for an Emmy for his executive producer role on BBC science documentary The Human Face, and he also ingested tapeworms for six weeks for a 2014 documentary called Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.

On Monday, Greek police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidou told the BBC that an initial post-mortem examination had been carried out, confirming there were no injuries on the body of Mosley.

It also estimated that the time of death was around 4pm local time on Wednesday.

Mosley had left friends on the island’s Agios Nikolaos beach at around 1.30pm to go for a walk.

Ms Dimoglidou said that the position of his body means he died of natural causes.

She also said there will be toxicology and histology investigation reports in due course.

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