TRANSCRIPT
Jenny Brockie: "Welcome, everybody and tonight a special guest: Michael Mosley, probably best known as the 5:2 guy. His 5:2 diet based on intermittent fasting to lose weight and to improve health became quite a thing worldwide. Michael Mosley, welcome."
"Thank you. "
That was Michael Mosley, a renowned British doctor, television journalist, producer, presenter, and writer, speaking with Jenny Brockie on SBS's Insight.
Dr Mosley, hailed as a British ‘national treasure’ who helped thousands lead healthier lives since 1985, has been found dead in a rocky area of the Greek island of Symi, four days after he disappeared during a walk.
A police spokesman says his body was found on a rocky coast, spotted from a private boat.
Antonis Mystiloglou, a cameraman for Greek state broadcaster ERT, was on that boat.
He is the one who spotted the missing journalist's body using his camera's zoom lens.
"When we went up to the Agia Marina beach, I noticed outside of the fence of the end of the beach, something black. I wasn't sure. So I took a close up with a camera, as far as it can zoom.. It was about 300m away. I saw something I wasn't sure."
Mr Mystiloglou directed the boat to get closer to get a better look.
"We were a little bit closer, about 200m. I also took the shot again, but through the camera viewfinder you know that, it's forensics, too small. I wasn't sure. So we decided once we come to the cafe again, we will play back the footage. And we took a photo of the screen with an iPhone and zoomed it in. And you can clearly see there is a man laying down with his hand on his belly, a watch, and in his other hand he has his bag. The description is exactly as (like) the guy we're looking for. I'm really sorry for the family. I'm sorry that I'm the one who found him. I'm sorry."
Sixty-seven year-old Dr Mosley, who was on the island with his wife, was last seen alive at 1:30pm local time on 5 June.
Officials say it appears that he fell down a steep slope, stopping against a fence, lying face-up with a few rocks on top of him.
Dr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, who is also an author and health columnist, has paid tribute to him.
She's issued a statement calling him "wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant".
"We had an incredibly lucky life together. ... We loved each other very much and were so happy together.... The family is comforted by the outpouring of love from people around the world. ... We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it. ... He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team. ... Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special."
She also thanked the "extraordinary" people on Symi who worked "tirelessly" to find her husband.
Many have paid tribute to the journalist including Philip Hammond, a fellow TV doctor and friend of Dr Mosley.
"When you're a doctor and you've worked in NHS for a long time you meet people of all walks of life who were taken too early. And it's always particularly shocking when someone is so full of life you always sort of Mike is almost indestructible is one of his strands was to self-experiment. He did brave things that he wanted me to do as a presenter - I presented the first five series of "Trust me I’m a doctor" - and Mike was very keen on self-experimentation and wanted me to have a sigmoidoscopy and eat tapeworms and do all sorts of things that I wasn't keen on. So when he took over presenting it, he was very keen to do that and he also always did it with such vigour and enthusiasm. Yeah, it's really hard to imagine all that energy and enthusiasm suddenly snuffed out."
Also paying tribute is Charlotte Moore, the BBC's Chief Content Officer.
She issued this statement.
“We are deeply saddened about the news of Dr Michael Mosley and our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time. ... He was a brilliant science broadcaster and program maker, able to make the most complex subjects simple, but he was also passionate about engaging and entertaining audiences, inspiring us all to live a healthier, fuller life. His entertaining and accessible style was enjoyed by audiences around the world and he will be hugely missed by many people not least those fortunate enough to have worked with him at the BBC.”
Dr Mosley was known outside the United Kingdom for his 2013 book “The Fast Diet,” which he co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer.
The book proposed the so-called 5:2 diet, which promised to help people lose weight quickly by minimising their calorie intake two days a week while eating healthily on the other five.
He was also well-known here in Australia for his SBS series Australia’s Health Revolution and Australia’s Sleep Revolution.
He’s also appeared on The Cook Up and Insight.
His collection of SBS stories can be found at:
Dr Mosley also leaves behind four children.
