Who is missing TV doctor and diet guru?

TV doctor Michael Mosley has gone missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi.

He was last seen on Wednesday, when he left his wife on the beach to go for a walk.

Officers were unable to find the 67-year-old so requested help from the Greek fire department in Athens.

But who is the man who has been a fixture on our TV screens for more than two decades?

Dr Mosley is a familiar face to many, mostly due to his numerous TV and radio appearances, where he mostly talks about diet and exercise.

He is known to millions for his appearances on The One Show (BBC One) and This Morning (ITV).

He is also famous for popularising the 5:2 and the Fast 800 diets, which advocate for intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate meals.

Mosley was born in India in 1957, moving to England at the age of seven to attend boarding school.

The presenter started out his adult life as an investment banker after studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Oxford, but became bored of finance after two years in the job.

He then retrained as a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital in London, but instead of using his skills in a medical capacity, he joined the BBC as an assistant producer in 1985, making science programmes such as The Human Face.

The show, which was presented by John Cleese and featured Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and Sir David Attenborough. was recognised with an Emmy nomination in 2002.

Mosley then went on to present many science and health programmes such as Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, which examines healthcare in the UK.

He also gained popularity for pulling stunts such as injecting snake venom into his own blood and eating tapeworms to see what impact they have on the body.

His 2012 BBC documentary, The Truth About Exercise, explored who benefitted the most from different types of aerobic training, while 2013’s The Truth About Personality followed a similar format but focused on different outlooks on life and how to change them.

Some of his work has been seen as controversial, including his 2021 series Lose a Stone in 21 Days for Channel 4.

He said in the three-part series that it was possible to lose a stone in three weeks by extreme calorie restriction.

This received backlash on social media, with eating disorder charity Beat stating they extended the hours of their helpline to support anyone affected by the show.

The broadcaster addressed this on social media at the time, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Channel 4 spoke to Beat long before the programme went out.

“More than 800 people who are overweight or obese have taken part in randomised clinical trials of the 800 calorie approach with striking improvements in health,” he added.

Mosley’s diets have advocated for a similar approach, with his Fast 800 Diet recommending those wishing to lose weight undertake an 800 calorie-a-day meal plan that is low in carbohydrates and includes Mediterranean foods.

His diets have attracted a lot of attention in the past, both for their methods and scientific accuracy.

Mosley currently has his own BBC Radio 4 podcast, Just One Thing, and recorded an edition of the show at last week’s Hay Festival.

He is married to Clare Bailey, also a doctor and author, and has four children.