The hosts of This Morning have said they are hoping and praying for the safety of TV doctor Michael Mosley, who has gone missing while holidaying on a Greek island.
Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey, raised the alarm when the 67-year-old failed to return to their accommodation after leaving for a coastal walk on the Dodecanese island of Symi on Wednesday afternoon (5 June). Police have been searching since Wednesday evening, and are using drones to scan the area’s coastline, while authorities work on bringing sniffer dogs to the island.
Hosts of the morning TV show, in which Mosley appears regularly as a health and wellness expert, said they found the news “upsetting” and were all “praying” that he is found safely.
As presenters Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary and regular commentator Vanessa Feltz recapped the morning headlines and showed a map of the Symi island, the hosts looked sombre. Hammond reflected: “This is so upsetting”.
She turned to Feltz, who said Mosley always lights up the studio when appearing on the programme.
“We’ve all interviewed him so many times. Met him so many times,” said Feltz.
“He is the embodiment of vitality. He is a man of irrepressible energy and enthusiasm and his enthusiasm is for everyone else to feel the same – to be your fittest and enjoy life to your fullest.”
Feltz branded him a “wonderful person” stating: “When he walks into the studio, the whole place lights up. He has tremendous energy.
“I’m just praying that they find him,” she said, before the hosts nodded and Dermot O’Leary emotionally concluded: “We can only hope and pray he’s found".
O’Leary called the case “baffling” as he reflected on the details of the ongoing three-day search. Sniffer dogs are reportedly being brought to the island to search for Mosley; local police told the Daily Mail there is “just no trace” of the 67-year-old after he left a beach to hike along a coastal path at around 1:30pm on Wednesday.
“Any and every attempt to track him down has not produced any result,” they said, adding that they had expanded the search.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
A post on a local Facebook group, which included a picture of the medic, read: “Have you seen this man? He set off to walk back from St Nick’s at about 13.30pm and failed to make it home. His friends are concerned as it is six hours since they last saw him.”
The picture saw the doctor wearing a blue polo shirt, matching cap and shorts, with a green rucksack, with one user on a local forum claiming he “left his phone at his accommodation” when he went on a hike on Wednesday morning.
The walk is supposed to take 20 minutes, but when he did not return as expected his wife raised the alarm at 7:30pm.
Mosley, known for his regular appearances on The One Show and for fronting his own BBC podcast Just One Thing, was holidaying with his wife and their friends.
He also hosted the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor. He is known for creating the 5:2 diet as a means of losing weight, which involves two days of fasting each week.
The father of four has recieved multiple accolades for his work and has been given an Emmy nod for BBC science documentary The Human Face, presented by John Cleese and featuring a raft of human faces including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and David Attenborough.
