HEARTBROKEN WIFE OF TV DOCTOR: HE SO NEARLY MADE IT

CCTV reveals Michael Mosley was agonisingly close to safety before 'collapsing'

- Chris Riches

CCTV has revealed that Dr Michael Mosley was crossing a treacherous rocky mountainside before he "collapsed" just 260ft from a beach resort.

His grieving wife Clare said after the body of the TV diet guru, 67, was found on the Greek island of Symi: "We're taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it.

"He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn't be easily seen by the extensive search team." Footage showed him gingerly picking his way down a slope close to a resort fence then falling out of view at 3.44pm last Wednesday - two and a quarter hours after he had left his wife and friends on St Nicholas beach on the opposite side of the bay to walk back to their accommodation in near-100F heat.

Last night it was unclear if TV's This Morning star was trying to get into the resort or to reach its jetty in the hope of catching a boat back to Symi Town. The film also shows a person, walking past a kiosk, who might have been able to hear any shout for help.

A coroner said an initial examination ruled out foul play as there were "no obvious injuries" to Dr Mosley's body. Tests will be carried out at a hospital on Rhodes to find the cause of death. A spokesman said: "It looks like it was a fall but we need to establish whether he had a medical episode before."

Wife Dr Clare Bailey, 62, last night paid tribute to her husband after his body was found more than a mile from the village of Pedi where he had also been spotted on CCTV. His umbrella and backpack were lying nearby.

The mother of their four adult children said in a statement: "I don't know quite where to begin with this. It's devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together.