Tributes have been paid to the British television presenter Dr Michael Mosley, after his body was discovered on the Greek island of Symi after a five-day search.
The broadcaster Dr Phil Hammond, who said he was given his TV break by Mosley when he was made a presenter of the first five series of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, said he had left an “enormous legacy” of explaining science to vast numbers of people.
“As well as his enthusiasm …. he had an encyclopaedic brain, he was just across every single story,” Hammond told Sky News. “He made sure that all the researchers and assistant producers on the show had science backgrounds.”
Mosley believed in the critical importance of improving public health and had a positive impact on “thousands and thousands” of individuals, he added.
“If Mike’s legacy is that some of the advice that he gave about exercise and diet and keeping in shape can be more widely dispersed, that would be I think, a fitting legacy,” Hammond said.
Another fellow doctor and broadcaster Saleyha Ahsan, one of Mosley’s co-presenters on Trust Me I’m A Doctor, said her “heartfelt condolences and many thoughts” were with Mosley’s family.
“I think the last few days everyone was just hoping for a different scenario, [a] different outcome,” she told Sky News. “Michael is resourceful. I mean his entire career he has used his body, he’s pushed his body to extremes in the name of science, in the name of finding better health outcomes for the rest of us. I just, I think all of us were hoping for a different outcome.”
She said that his on-screen character, well known to audiences, reflected the man he was. “He is so personable and so approachable through the screen and that is an art in itself, being able to portray yourself like that,” she said. “And he is exactly like [that].”
She added that he was “just so professional, but he was just so human and so passionate about what he was doing […] He lived and breathed his work. He was an inspiration.”
Prof Alice Roberts said she had last seen the presenter, who worked as an executive producer of her 2009 series Human Journey, two weeks ago at the Hay festival.
“The fragility of life is so shocking,” she wrote on X. “I can’t believe he’s gone. My thoughts are with his bereaved family.”
Tom Watson, said Mosley had helped to transform his life. “It’s hard to describe how upset I am by this news,” he wrote on social media. “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.”
