Divers join search for TV doctor Michael Mosley after disappearance in Greece

The TV doctor and columnist, known for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, vanished on Wednesday.

ITV News Reporter Martha Fairlie on the search for Michael Mosley, on the Greek island of Symi.

Divers are searching the waters off the Greek island of Symi as a search-and-rescue operation continues for missing TV doctor Michael Mosley.

He was last seen setting off on a walk to the centre of the island from Saint Nikolas Beach at about 1.30pm Greek time (11:30am BST) on Wednesday.

Authorities resumed their search on Friday, with police and firefighters using drones and sniffer dogs.

Dr Mosley is best known for popularising the 5:2 diet and for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning.

Symi’s coastguard said: “All our patrol boats are searching, about five. Also all the private boats, commercial boats know about the incident and they are looking in this area.”

A statement from local police said officers were informed about the “disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island” on Wednesday.

Police then asked for assistance from the Greek fire service, with six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team arriving from Rhodes on Thursday afternoon.

The area where Dr Mosley went missing is experiencing hot temperatures, forecast to reach highs of 36 celcius on Friday.

The rescue operation is focusing on the Pedi area of the island after a woman reported seeing him there on Wednesday.

Mayor of Symi Eleftherios Papakalodoukas said firefighters had told him they believed it was “impossible” Mosley was still there.

He told the BBC: “It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So, if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now.”

A friend of the person Mosley was staying with said she was struggling to understand how anyone could get lost on the part of the island he was believed to be on.

The island of Symi, Greece. / Credit:
The Greek fire service arrived to assist island police. / Credit:
Police are using drones to scour the island. / Credit:

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drive programme, she said: “It’s a road that sort of heads over the mountain side but it’s been recently widened and there is only one route, so it’s not possible to lose your way.

“So, it is probably a 20-minute walk down the side of the mountain, but it’s not overly rugged or something that would be seen to be too dangerous, it’s something that tourists do every day in the summer.

“I’m having trouble understanding how you could get lost.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Dr Mosley is a columnist for the Daily Mail and has made a number of films about diet and exercise.

The broadcaster fronted the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

He also lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.

Michael Mosley in 2022. / Credit: PA
Michael Mosley is known for his work on nutrition and dieting / Credit: Nathan Williams/BBC

He also advocated intermittent fasting through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.

Radio 2 presenter and Channel 5 talk show host Jeremy Vine wrote in a social media post: “I’m praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family.”

MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis wrote on X: “Feeling disturbed about the news about Dr Michael Mosley. I hope he’s ok.”

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, also a doctor, author and health columnist, who wrote the recipe book Fast 800 Easy.

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