New CCTV shows TV presenter near where body found

CCTV footage appears to show TV presenter Dr Michael Mosley disappear from view as he makes his way down a hillside close to where his body was found, the BBC has been told.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Monday after the body of Dr Mosley was found four days after he went missing on the Greek island of Symi.

It is understood the coroner could not determine from the outset whether Dr Mosley had fallen because of the condition of the body.

The coroner – who has arrived on the neighbouring island of Rhodes where the post-mortem will take place – is believed to have ruled out the possibility of foul play.

Dr Mosley’s body was found on a hillside near the Agia Marina beach bar on Sunday.

Footage taken nearby, which the BBC has been told about but not seen, is said to show what appear to be Dr Mosley’s final moments, as he makes his way down a slope before disappearing behind a wall.

The 67-year-old father-of-four was reported missing after he left Agios Nikolaos beach to set off on a walk at about 13:30 local time (11:30 BST) on Wednesday.

Greek authorities conducted an extensive search for Dr Mosley amid high temperatures.

His body was found on Sunday as teams were searching the coastline.

A bar manager found his body, PA news agency reported, after the island’s mayor “saw something” by the fence of the bar and alerted staff.

A police source told BBC News the deceased had been dead “for a number of days”.

Dr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, on Sunday said her family was “taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it”.

CCTV footage showed Dr Mosley had walked to the other side of the bay in intense heat and across rocky terrain.

“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team,” Dr Bailey Mosley said in a statement.

She also paid tribute to her “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant” husband after the “devastating” news his body had been found.

“We had an incredibly lucky life together,” Dr Bailey Mosley said.

“We loved each other very much and were so happy together.”

The former deputy leader of the Labour Party, Lord Tom Watson, was among those to pay fresh tributes to Dr Mosley on Monday.

“He certainly changed my life. He gave me the idea that I wasn’t broken,” Mr Watson, who said in 2018 that he had “reversed” his type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Dr Mosley studied medicine in London and qualified as a doctor, and for the last two decades was working as a presenter, documentary maker, journalist and author.

He was known for his TV programmes including Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, and BBC Radio 4’s Just One Thing podcast. He also wrote a column for the Daily Mail.

Mr Mosley had been an advocate for intermittent fasting diets, including through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.

Dr Saleyha Ahsan, who co-presented Trust Me, I’m a Doctor with Dr Mosley, told the BBC’s Breakfast programme she was initially “terrified” to take on the role but that he “put me at ease almost immediately”.

She added: “That really personable, accessible character [that] comes across on television, that’s exactly how he was in real life.

“He did incredible things for medicine and for public health in a way that I think few others have.”

Lord Watson recalled the moment he first read a book by Dr Mosley, saying it was “like a light came on in my life”.

“I just became a real fan of his work and, over the years, he’s helped me maintain that and help millions of others,” he said.

“And that’s what great journalism is: he explained very complex ideas of science in a very simple way.”

Science broadcaster Dr Chris van Tulleken, who also worked with Dr Mosley, said his former colleague had invented “an entire genre of broadcasting” over the course of his career.

He added that Dr Mosley’s work “quietly changed my daily practices”, from brushing his teeth while standing on one leg to sometimes fasting.

“He was giving people tools they could use that everyone could afford,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Wednesday 1330 local time (11:30 BST) – Dr Michael Mosley leaves his wife Clare on Agios Nikolaos beach and sets off on a walk

1350 – Man carrying umbrella is seen on CCTV in Pedi

1357 – Same man is seen again at Pedi’s marina heading north-east

Thursday 1115 – Police are unable to find the presenter, so they inform Athens and request assistance from the Greek fire department

1400 – Greek fire services, with six firefighters and a drone team, arrive in Symi

1900 – Helicopter deployed to assist search

Friday – Divers join the search in the water around Symi

Saturday 0600 – Firefighters resume search for Dr Mosley

Sunday – Authorities looking for Dr Mosley find a body