15 Jun 2024

Michael Mosley's 'genius' remembered in tribute programmes

1:29 am on 15 June 2024

By Yasmin Rufo and culture reporter Ian Youngs, BBC

Dr Michael Mosley, gut health guru and inventor of the 5:2 Diet, refines his intermittent fasting approach in new book, The Fast 800

Michael Mosley died in Greece after going for a walk while on holiday. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

Michael Mosley has been remembered as "one of the most important broadcasters of recent decades" in a special tribute programme following his death.

The final edition of his radio show Just One Thing, recorded live at the Hay Festival on 25 May, aired on BBC Radio 4 on Friday and is available on BBC Sounds and through podcast apps.

The recording was introduced by fellow TV doctor and presenter Chris van Tulleken, who praised the impact Mosley made and said he would miss him as a "friend, mentor and most of all as a broadcaster".

There will also be a special TV programme titled Michael Mosley: The Doctor Who Changed Britain, on BBC One on Friday night (local time).

Mosley's body was found in a rocky area on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday, four days after he went missing while on holiday.

Paying tribute in the introduction to the posthumous broadcast, Van Tulleken said: "Michael's genius was to make himself the patient in a way that's utterly relatable."

Van Tulleken, who worked with Mosley on the BBC's Trust Me, I'm A Doctor series, referred to his colleague deliberately infecting himself with a tapeworm and having a camera inserted to examine his bowel.

In the special edition of Just One Thing, Mosley was in conversation with Paul Bloom, professor emeritus of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University.

Discussing tips for leading a better life, Mosley said it was a challenge to have a cold shower "despite the fact I know I'll feel better afterwards".

He told the audience at Hay that "it's always followed by a lot of screaming" and he got through it by "singing loudly, which my wife really hates".

Mosley also spoke about meditation and mindfulness, and admitted that even though he told other people to do it, "the reality is I don't really do it".

"I mean to do it, and I have long conversations with my wife about it, but somehow we never get round to it," he confessed.

Michael Mosley

Michael Mosley was the author of numerous books, including 4 Weeks to Better Sleep. Photo: Damien McFadden

'Psychopath test'

Later in the episode, Mosley shared with the audience one of the "scarier experiments" he had taken part in - a personality test.

"I was stuck in a brain scanner and showed images of someone being hit with a ruler and then they hit me with a ruler," he explained.

When he asked for the results, the psychologist said: "I'd send your wife out of the room at this point."

Mosley admitted that "according to this test, I am a bit of a psychopath".

As the audience laughed, Bloom reassured Mosley: "If you're worried you're a psychopath, you're not a psychopath."

The TV special will focus on how the 67-year-old broadcaster and columnist transformed people's lives through science.

Mosley, who studied medicine in London and qualified as a doctor, was also known for programmes like The Truth About Exercise and Lose a Stone in 21 Days, and for appearances on BBC One's The One Show and ITV's This Morning.

He also wrote a column for the Daily Mail, and was an advocate for intermittent fasting diets, including through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.

The father-of-four was reported missing after he set off for a walk from Agios Nikolaos beach - near where he was staying on the north-east side of Symi - at about 1.30pm local time on Wednesday.

Despite an extensive search by the Greek authorities, his body was not found near Agia Marina beach until Sunday by local journalists, staff and the mayor.

An initial post-mortem examination concluded on Monday that he died of natural causes.

Separate toxicology and histology reports have been ordered but the results have not yet been released.

This story was originally published by BBC News.

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