Police believe Dr Michael Mosley died of heat exhaustion after sitting to rest before losing consciousness

Dr Michael Mosley died of heat exhaustion after sitting down to rest on a rocky slope before losing consciousness as temperatures hit 40C, police believe.

The 67-year-old Mail health guru was found on a mountain side five days after he disappeared while on holiday with his wife on the Greek island of Symi on Wednesday.

His body lay alongside a low wall at the Agia beach resort, with CCTV showing that he was only a minute away from safety.

A post mortem yesterday proved inconclusive with the coroner only saying foul play had been ruled out.

But a police commander in Symi, Dimos Kotsidaras, said it is believed ‘the cause of death was heat exhaustion after walking from St Nikolos to Agia Marina in high temperatures’.

Initially it was assumed he slipped and struck his head after succumbing to the heat during a two-hour hike over mountains.

But police sources said that analysis of film shows he although he appeared disoriented, he did not fall, walking backwards and forwards along the resort’s high perimeter fence for almost five minutes.

After staggering down a rocky slope he pauses momentarily, resting his hand on a wall.

It is at this point just before 4pm that he appears to purposely sit down, though he was only 80 yards from the sea and the safety of an outdoor taverna.

It is thought that he died sometime afterwards.

When he was found on Saturday he was lying peacefully on his back with his legs elevated. Police believe he was following medical advice to avoid fainting.

On Saturday his wife of nearly 40 years, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, travelled to Rhodes to identify his body, which is expected to be repatriated by the end of the week.

Details of the doctor’s final movements emerged as three of his friends went to Agia Marina by motor boat to visit the spot where he died.

One of them, a middle-aged woman, clutching a single flower, went slowly up the mountain slope to pay her respects

With two men, she spent 20 minutes in tearful, solemn reflection as they studied the shaded ground where his life ended.

The trio placed the single white and pink oleander where his head had rested, then stepped back, consoling each other.

The flower features in Greek mythology in the legend of Leander whose body was dashed against sharp rocks as he swam to his lover Hero.

Dr Mosley appeared on BBC programs including Trust Me, I’m A Doctor and The One Showand was known for promoting intermittent fasting, including the 5:2 diet.

He and his wife arrived on Symi last Tuesday to stay with friends at a villa near the island’s port. The following day they took a water taxi to the beach of St Nicholas with another couple.

They spent the morning swimming and resting in the shade of pine trees. At 1.30pm Dr Mosley said he was returning to the villa.

He did not have a phone and the assumption was that he would walk along the coastal path to the village of Pedi then take a bus or taxi.

His wife said he had a bottle of water. But it was at this juncture that he decided to walk in the opposite direction over a challenging mountain footpath.

‘It was a strange and crazy decision,’ said the island’s mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas.

Locals questioned why Dr Mosley lay undiscovered for so long. At the Agia resort bar manager Ilias Tsavaris, 38, who found the body, said of the search: ‘It’s unreal. The helicopters didn’t see him. Why?

‘The whole day before the helicopter was here, over there and back. Come on.’