Michael Mosley (born 22 March 1957) is a British television journalist, producer, presenter, and former doctor who has worked for the BBC since 1985. He is probably best known as a presenter of television programmes on biology and medicine and his regular appearances on The One Show.
Michael Mosley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 March 1957 Calcutta, India |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Television journalist, producer, and presenter |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Spouse |
Clare Bailey (m. 1987) |
| Children | 4 |
Early life
Mosley was born in Calcutta, India.[1] His father was a banker and his maternal grandfather was a bishop. Mosley attended a boarding school in England from the age of seven.[2] He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford, before working for two years as a banker in the City of London. He then decided to move into medicine, intending to become a psychiatrist, studying at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School, now part of UCL Medical School. He is no longer a registered doctor. [3]
Career
Upon graduation from medical school, and having become disillusioned by psychiatry, Mosley joined a trainee assistant producer scheme at the BBC in 1985.[3]
He produced a number of science programmes, including The Human Face, three series with Professor Robert Winston, and the 2004 BBC Two engineering series Inventions That Changed the World hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.[4]
He presented Blood and Guts, Medical Mavericks and The Story of Science for television, and was the subject of a television documentary, 10 Things You Need to Know about Losing Weight. He presented Make Me for BBC One. In April–June 2010 he produced and presented the television series The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion broadcast by BBC Two.
In 2011 he made a series entitled The Brain: A Secret History, on the history of psychology and neuroscience. During the series, while describing the methods that are being employed to identify the anomalies in brain structure associated with psycopathy, his personal test results revealed he himself had these candidate brain characteristics.[citation needed] In the same year, he made a two-part documentary, Frontline Medicine with episodes called "Survival" and "Rebuilding Lives". These programmes described the medical advances in the treatment of military personnel during the 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and examined how these new techniques are being used in emergency medicine in civilian casualties in the United States and Great Britain.
His documentary The Truth About Exercise, shown first in 2012, aired current thinking about how different patterns of exercise might help achieve health benefits, the danger of sitting for prolonged periods and revealed how certain genotypes are unable to gain significant improvements in aerobic fitness (VO2 max) by following endurance exercise programmes. His own genetic type can gain many of the benefits of exercise, primarily improved insulin response, through short, high-intensity training sessions as suggested by the research of Professor James Timmons.[5]
In January 2013, he presented The Genius of Invention. In the documentary named The Truth About Personality,[6] first aired on 10 July 2013, Mosley explores what science can tell us about optimism and pessimism and whether we can change our outlook.[7][8]
5:2 diet
Mosley is credited with popularising the 5:2 diet, based on his close friend Dr Valter Longo's research and his bestselling book the Longevity Diet. After appearing in August 2012 in the BBC2 Horizon documentary Eat, Fast & Live Longer.[9] In early 2013 he published The Fast Diet with Mimi Spencer.[10][11]
Television
| Year | Title | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Medical Mavericks | BBC Four | |
| 2008 | Blood and Guts | BBC Two | |
| 2009 | Make Me | BBC One | |
| 2010 | The Brain - A Secret History | BBC Four | |
| 2010 | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion | BBC Two | Six-part series. |
| 2010 | Pleasure and Pain | BBC One | |
| 2010 | The Young Ones | BBC One | |
| 2011 | Frontline Medicine | BBC Two | |
| 2011 | Ten Things about Weight Loss | BBC One | |
| 2011 | Inside the Human Body | BBC One | Four-part series and a Best of Series episode. |
| 2012 | Guts: The Strange and Mysterious World of the Human Stomach | BBC Four | Also referred to as Inside Michael Mosley. |
| 2012 | Eat, Fast and Live longer | BBC Two | |
| 2012 | Truth about Exercise | BBC Two | |
| 2013 | One Show | BBC One | Topical films about science. |
| 2013 | Horizon Specials | BBC Two | |
| 2013 | The Truth About... | BBC Two | |
| 2013 | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines | BBC Four | Three-part series. |
| 2013 | Winter Viruses and How to Beat Them | BBC Two | Co presented with Alice Roberts. |
| 2013 | The Genius of Invention | BBC Two | Four-part series between 24 January and 14 February. Co-presented with Mark Miodownik and Cassie Newland. |
| 2013 | The Truth About Personality | BBC Two | A Horizon (BBC TV series) documentary. |
| 2013–present | Trust Me, I'm a Doctor | BBC Two | |
| 2014 | Infested! Living with Parasites | BBC Four | |
| 2014 | Should I Eat Meat? | BBC Two | Total of two episodes as a part of Horizon 2014-2015 series. |
| 2015 | Is your Brain Male or Female | BBC Two | Episode 7 of Horizon 2014-2015 series. |
| 2015 | Countdown to Life: the Extraordinary Making of You | BBC Two | Three-part series. |
| 2015 | Are Health Tests Really a Good Idea? | BBC Two | |
| 2016 | E-Cigarettes: Miracle or Menace? | BBC Two | |
| 2016 | Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility | BBC Four | |
| 2017 | Meet the Humans | BBC Earth | Five-part series.[12][13] |
| 2021 | 21 Day Body Turnaround with Michael Mosley | Channel 4 | Upcoming series[14] |
| 2021 | Horizon: How To Sleep Well | BBC Two | Upcoming programme[15] |
| 2021 | Australia's Health Revolution | SBS | Three-part series tackling type 2 diabetes in Australia.[16] |
Awards and honours
Mosley was nominated for an Emmy and BAFTA for his Horizon documentary reporting the link between Helicobacter pylori and gastric ulcers discovered by Australian scientists Robin Warren and Barry Marshall. He was named Medical Journalist of the Year in 1995 by the British Medical Association.[3]
Personal life
Mosley is married to Clare Bailey, a GP; they have four children.[11][17] He has reversed his Type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise. In a BBC documentary on sleep, Mosley revealed he has chronic insomnia.[18] He published Fast Asleep in 2019.[11]
References
- ^ Mosley, Michael (25 January 2013). "The flu virus that nearly killed me". BBC News.
- ^ Rocca, Jane (17 March 2019). "Dr Michael Mosley: What I know about women". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ a b c Chapman, Beth (27 March 2004). "From finance to medicine to the media". BMJ Careers. 328 (7442). BMJ Group: s129. doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7442.s129. S2CID 79711196. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Inventions That Changed The World" (press release). BBC.
- ^ "Short fast sprints 'cut' diabetes". BBC News. 28 January 2009.
- ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Can science explain why I'm a pessimist?". BBC News. 10 July 2013.
- ^ "BBC Two - Horizon, 2012-2013, The Truth About Personality". BBC.
- ^ "BBC Two - Horizon, 2012-2013, Eat, Fast and Live Longer". BBC.
- ^ Paine, Hannah (23 January 2020). "Hidden problem with 5:2 diet". The Chronicle. Australia.
- ^ a b c Membery, York (29 March 2020). "Dr Michael Mosley: For me, health and wealth go together". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Big Brother meets lab rats". New Straits Times. 19 June 2017.
- ^ "BBC Earth partners with humanoid robot 'Sophia' to explain what it means to be human". BBC Media Centre. 24 May 2017.
- ^ "21 Day Body Turnaround with Michael Mosley". Channel 4. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "The UK Sleep Census". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Australia's Health Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley". www.sbs.com.au.
- ^ "Dr Clare Bailey reveals her passionate approach to diet – and views on HRT". You. 2 September 2018.
- ^ "BBC One - The Truth About..., Sleep". BBC.
External links
- Michael Mosley at IMDb
- Profile at JLA agency
- Michael Mosley on the Eden channel website
- Michael Mosley on the BBC One Show website