Channel 5 unsure over fate of Michael Mosley’s new documentary series
Channel 5 is yet to make a decision on whether it will air the series Michael Mosley was making before his death.
The TV doctor, who changed the way the nation eats and popularised the 5:2 diet, died aged 67 on the Greek island of Symi last week.
His death was confirmed on Sunday after a five-day search, which was initiated after his wife, Clare, reported him missing.
He had been seen leaving Saint Nikolas beach at around 1.30pm on Wednesday, setting off for a coastal walk in searing heat without his mobile phone.
An initial post-mortem examination concluded that Mosley died of natural causes and found no injuries on his body.
The fate of his three-part show Wonders of the Human Body for Channel 5 is not yet known.
A source from Paramount, the company that owns Channel 5, told The Independent it was too early to say whether the series will broadcast.
Wonders of the Human Body is an exploration of how our bodies work. The series sees Mosley put his own body to the test to track incredible medical breakthroughs, from a new scan that promises to predict a heart attack years in advance to undergoing hypnosis and following pioneering brain surgery to cure tremors.
The founder of the show’s production company Storyboard, Natalie Humphreys, wrote on LinkedIn: “Many of us had the joyful experience of working with Michael regularly over the years and we recently finished collaborating on a new series together. The whole team is heartbroken.”
It is currently unknown whether Mosley’s podcast Just One Thing will continue to air on BBC Radio 4 on Thursdays. Each episode explores a single action a person can take to improve their health, from a hot bath in the evening to Nordic walking. In April, Mosley started filming a TV version of the show.
Announcing the start of production, he wrote on X: “I’ve just begun filming a new series for BBC Two based on my popular podcast series Just One Thing. It is surprisingly challenging going from a radio format into a TV one, but so far it’s looking good…”
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment on the fate of the shows.
Tributes have been pouring in for the medic, whose loved ones have described him as “extremely kind” and a “brilliant science broadcaster” after his death.
Mosley said he did not want to die “early” like his father, who lived to 74 years old, in an interview given just before his death.
Speaking at the end of April, he revealed his healthy lifestyle was driven by watching his own father, Bill, die before seeing his grandchildren grow up.
“I thought, that’s not a road I want to go down,” the father-of-four told The Telegraph. “My dad, when he retired, basically sat on the sofa and watched sport and that was incredibly bad for him.”
