For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

British TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley has gone missing while on holiday on a Greek island.

Police have launched a major search and rescue operation for the 67-year-old.

On Wednesday afternoon, his wife Dr Clare Bailey raised the alarm when Mosley failed to return to their hotel after going for a walk on the Dodecanese island of Symi.

Follow the latest updates on the search for Michael Mosley here

Timeline of Mosley’s disappearance

Wednesday, 1.30pm: Dr Mosley was last seen leaving Saint Nikolas beach at 1.30pm on Wednesday, when he is believed to have been heading off on the coastal path back to nearby Pedi.

Wednesday, 3.00pm: Mr Mosley had still not returned to the accommodation where he was staying with his wife even as temperatures on Symi reached more than 40C.

Wednesday, 7.30pm: Dr Mosley’s wife Dr Clair Bailey raises the alarm after he failed to return to their hotel. His phone was still in the place where the couple were staying.

Overnight Wednesday: Local authorities began tracing Mosley’s route but were unable to find him.

Thursday, 11am: An appeal about his disappearance was posted on a local Facebook group – Friends of Symi — describing Mosley and asking locals to look for him. It read: “Have you seen this man? He set off to walk back from St Nick’s at about 13.30 and failed to make it home. His friends are concerned as it is 6 hours since they last saw him.

“His name is Dr Mike Mosley and he is a familiar face for many British people.”

Thursday, around 12.00pm: By midday on Thursday Greek authorities were scouring the coast with police extending the search area from the immediate vicinity of his disappearance.

Thursday, 2.00pm: Firefighters arrived in Symi from nearby Rhodes to assist in the search operation.

Thursday, 7.00pm: A helicopter from Athens was deployed to assist in the search for 67-year-old Mosley. The search operation now included firefighters, volunteers, police officers, a drone, and a police dog. CCTV footage was also being reviewed for any signs of Mosley.

Thursday night: Local police announced that the search operation would pause for the night but would resume with “more men” on Friday morning.

Friday morning: The search is set to resume with additional personnel and temperatures on Symi are forecast to reach as high as 48C, making search conditions even more challenging.

Meanwhile, the mayor, Eleftherios Papakalodoukas suggested Mosley may have taken a different path or fallen into the sea. A police source was also quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that “he may have slipped and fallen, perhaps because of a heart attack along the way”.

Greek police have said that “nothing at this stage can be ruled out”.

“We are focusing on the area of the path we believe Michael would have taken from the beach in Ayios Nikolaos [St Nicholas] to Pedi but as so much time has elapsed since he went missing we have also expanded our search to other parts of the island,” the police said.

Dr Mosley is a well-known figure from British TV, and for the past 25 years has been working as a documentary maker and science journalist.

Currently, he hosts the Just One Thing podcast for the BBC and makes regular appearances on programmes like This Morning and The One Show.

The TV doctor is credited with creating the 5:2 diet as a means of losing weight, which involves two days of fasting each week. He has also advocated for The Fast 800 diet, which revolves around Mediterranean-style meals and intermittent fasting.